The Jedi and the Sapphire
by DishonorableKnight
Summary: As the Galactic Republic teeters on the brink of military collapse, the Jedi Council dispatches Jedi Master Quinlan Vos on a mission: recover a top-secret weapon that may just be enough to turn the tide. He is accompanied by a mysterious woman who will lead him to a destined reunion with his dark past, and a trio of bounty hunters out for six million credits worth of blood money.
1. Business as Usual

Disclaimer: All rights belong to the Star Wars franchise which belongs to Disney. Obviously, I do not own any characters, except for my own OC's, and I intend to keep it that way.

Author's Note: Hey, so this is my first attempt at writing Fanfiction like this in my life on such a large scale. I appreciate that you would take the time to read this and please, give me any feedback on this first chapter, as well as any suggestions for future chapters. Also, special thanks to SpeedMasterDash for convincing me to write this, if you have the time you should check out his own Fanfiction. Cheers!

* * *

 _ **A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...**_

 _ **STAR WARS**_

 _ **The Jewel Before the Jedi**_

 ** _An epoch of peace has been cast aside, burned to a crisp by the new one ushered in._**

 _ **The Galaxy is tearing itself apart in its war of domination between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist Alliance. Meanwhile, the members of the Ancient Jedi Order remain brave and vigilant as they are stretched thin across far-flung worlds with death-defying battles.**_

 _ **However, the newest revelation that has caught the attention of the Jedi Council happens to be very close to their home on Coruscant. Once again they have assembled to discuss a matter of very dangerous import.**_

 _ **Unbeknownst to a certain Jedi Master, destiny is about to intervene and plot a course for a grand adventure...**_

* * *

 **Episode 1: "It's A Matter of Respect."**

He was minding his own business, as usual. His quarters seemed to be the only good place left to practice some worthwhile meditation, everywhere else was too noisy and full of discord. He sat cross-legged, as he was taught since he was a small boy, on the floormat, thinking vigorously. Finally, he thought, he could find the opportunity to reach into his own mind once again.

If there wasn't a beeping sound coming from his wrist communicator, that is. He grunted furiously as he realized that there was really no escape from his fellow Jedi, not anymore. He reached over with his hand and pre sed down on the communicator.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked, clearly annoyed by the interruption.

"Your presence is requested by the Council, it is of the utmost importance." A stern voice replied.

"Oh, why of course Master Windu, it always is. Fine, I'll be there shortly." He got up, and threw over himself his brown cloak and neatly straightened it out before walking out of the door.

With that, Quinlan Vos started his trek to the Jedi Council chambers. As he walked through the maze of hallways towards the spire elevator, he silently cursed as he visualized the agonizing boredom that would soon envelop him once he reached his destination. Whatever the twelve esteemed and sometimes arrogant members of the council wanted with him was likely important, but that didn't make the prospect of another meeting feel any more appealing to the Kiffar Jedi.

Along the way, he walked through one of the larger hallways that bordered the edge of the Jedi Temple. As such, there were massive windows that let a very generous amount of light inside. Quinlan gave a very small gasp of satisfaction as the rays of light hit his Tan skin. He always found this sensation to be strange, but admittedly in a very welcoming way. It took Quinlan a moment to realize that the halls of the temple were quiet today, just like they had for some time now. There were far less Jedi in the temple these days with the war with the Separatists going on, and that meant there was very little else in the way of sensory note but the feeling of the sunlight.

He passed through a set of automatic doors and into the elevator that leads to the Jedi Council chambers. There were no floors between the spire and the base of the temple, so all Quinlan had to do was press a single button that activated the lift. As he rose, Quinlan took a meaningful glance through the outside window. The beautiful high rise buildings in view his view towered several kilometers over the planet's surface. Surrounded on all sides by a constant flow of airborne traffic that gave the scene a mesmerizing feeling to look at. It would have been a perfect and beautiful sight, but not to him. That same light also gave way to massive shadows that blended into the background of the structures, and Quinlan knew all too well of the less-than-beautiful things that happened under that veil of darkness. To him, it was like a physical manifestation of the Dark Side, taunting the Jedi and its Light, daring it to come forth and try to snuff it out. He thought of this idea in his head before he was interrupted by a beeping sound from the elevator, he had reached the summit of the spire.

He was about to walk inside the council chambers when he stopped and felt something, off; it was like the Force was telling him that something was not as it should be. For some reason, the Council seemed to be in discord, when it was usually exhuming a sense of tranquility. Even in previous times of crisis before the Clone Wars commenced, like Naboo, or the Stark-Hyperspace war, they did not buckle under pressure.. Now, that was all gone. Quinlan was slightly worried by this feeling, but he bottled it up and dismissed it as he walked inside.

There was not an energetic greeting from any of the Jedi Councillors, unfortunately. As expected, all twelve members of the council were present in one form or another, but their physical expressions seemed to verify Quinlan's worries. Masters Adi Gallia and Ki Adi Mundi sat gravely with arms crossed, Master Kit Fisto was sitting without his signature smile, and Master Eeth Koth gave Quinlan a cold face as he entered the chambers; well, Quinlan seemed to think Eeth Koth was just like that to everyone. Yoda and Mace Windu sat next to each other seeming perplexed, both Jedi Masters looking out of touch with reality as they were clearly deep in thought. The only person who didn't seem to be phased nearly as much as the others were his old friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who still seemed to maintain his aura of charisma, though he too seemed to be troubled by something.

 _It's unusually grim, even for the council._ Quinlan thought to himself. He walked into the middle of the room, his cloak gliding effortlessly against the smooth floor. As expected his fellow Jedi now began to take notice of him. He stopped at the very center of the room, and now all eyes were on him. Now, he realized that the time was right to make a good first impression as he always did. He smiled as he gave his formal bow to the council before speaking.

"Well, I'm flattered that all of you were so insistent on seeing me again, but did you really have to summon me here just to tell me to another lost lightsaber?"Quinlan jokingly asked.

Obi-Wan struggled to hide the grin on his face as his friend spoke, but that was about the extent of the Council's appreciation for Quinlan's jest. The Kiffar Jedi himself was unsurprised to see that not a single councilor besides Kenobi changed their expression in the slightest, and a few of them even had the audacity to ignore him, as if on cue. However, it wasn't the council unrefined taste that annoyed him the most, but worse still was seeing that Mace Windu was once again staring him down again like he always did. It was specifically Windu that got to Quinlan, as he used such a stoic and emotionless face which, Quinlan jokingly thought, could be sustained even if Mace got his hand sliced off or was shot in the chest. He himself gave a mental note to not try that joke again, he knew that the council was a tough crowd at times, but this was ridiculous!

Quinlan's eye then fell on the hologram of Master Shaak Ti, the Torgruta sitting straight-backed as she always did with her hands in her lap, a look of absolute composure accompanied by her natural beauty. Quinlan knew very well from experience that she greatly disapproved of his theatrical entrances, yet all of her disappointed-looking stares, rolled eyes, and sometimes even snarls that she would express to Quinlan unknowingly encouraged the act. He has even made it an unspoken tradition to look over at the woman, curious about the response that she would give each time he was summoned by the Jedi Council.

"Master Vos, I think you will need to first find your sense of humor before anything else." Shaak Ti replied with the faintest hint of satisfaction in her calm voice. Quinlan raised an eyebrow at that remark, doing his best to hide his irritation before the Torgruta continued. "Now, if you are finished, then we can get along with why we actually summoned you here."

It was then that Yoda began to speak. "Yes, an important matter for why we summoned you, Master Vos. Disturbing, our situation is. Yes, very disturbing indeed."

Quinlan was unsure where this was going. He knew whatever task he was going to be given was going to include the Coruscant underworld. From his experience, he knew that the Underworld was a haven for bandits, cutthroats, and thieves, and general low lives, as he'd seen them, and sometimes killed them beforehand too many times. But this time, perhaps due to the unusual seriousness of the council, he was thinking that whatever was happening surely went beyond a simple murder or pickpocket. Although in the back of his mind, Quinlan always thought the council liked giving him rather underwhelming assignments in the past, such as the one time he was tasked to training a group of troublesome Younglings in a lesson on self-restraint; He made his apprentice do that one for him since he felt that teaching them himself would be far too ironic.

"Disturbing is right", Master Ki Adi spoke up. "A few days ago, we received information of an attack on a Republic frigate en route to Coruscant from Kamino carrying a very special item of interest. The ship was destroyed, but we have a solid feeling that the item in question was stolen beforehand."

"That's it, piracy?" Quinlan interrupted, "Come on, you didn't seriously summon me just to tell me that, did you?"

Master Ki Adi dismissed his fellow Master's lack of patience, not that it surprised him, however. "Well, I wish we could, but there's more, unfortunately. You see, one of our underground informants recently gave a report with a description of an unusual item floating around with a matching description of the item on the attacked frigate. Given the timing of the report and the details it entailed, we can only conclude that this mystery object is the same one from the frigate."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are we talking about with this special item? Is it some kind of weapon?" Quinlan inquired.

"Yes, it is indeed a weapon." Shaak Ti said. "It was developed on Kamino as you would imagine, and I personally saw it loaded onto the frigate before it left for Coruscant. One of the lead project scientists, Director Jing Sai, told me that was an experimental ion disruptor, a handheld weapon with such power that it could eliminate starfighters, vehicles, and most disturbingly, living organisms with an effectiveness far greater than anything we already use currently." She paused, then showing a face full of serious concern, "Whoever took this weapon likely doesn't have the ingenuity to use it personally, and more likely they plan on selling it to the highest bidder. I do not think I have to tell you who that is going to be."

"General Grievous, of course", Quinlan finished for her.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," She replied.

Windu who was keeping silent for the last few minutes now eased his stoic posture and now spoke to Master Vos.

"This is why we summoned you here today. With what we know of this device from Master Ti's description, we cannot allow the Separatists to get ahold of this device at any cost, the Force only knows what would happen if they had the idea of mass producing it for their Droid Army. You are the only Jedi we can spare with the war now in full swing, and we have unanimously come to the agreement that you are the one best suited for this task, especially since we all know too well about your exploits regarding the criminal underworld."

Quinlan's face slowly grew into a smile as Master Windu spoke. He wasn't even listening to him near the end, already aware of how far his reputation reached throughout the Order, but his inflated ego was disrupted when he was then asked the following question:

"Your task is simple: You must track down this device and return it to us before the separatists or anyone else do, and arrest anyone you find involved with its trafficking. Now, keep in mind that if you are unsuccessful, then this entire war may take a turn for the worse, and the Jedi will certainly pay a grave price. Ultimately, we trust you to get this done without an incident. Are you willing to accomplish this task for the Council?" Windu asked slowly.

There was a pause in the noise penetrating the council chambers. For the briefest moment, there was nothing but complete silence from any Jedi, Quinlan most of all. He stood there motionless, before putting a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I can do it, between potentially getting run through by a cyborg with an insatiable bloodlust for Jedi, and getting captured and tortured by cold-hearted pirates, it's nothing I can't handle, really. Although, even I can't get anywhere without a place to start from."

Obi-Wan gave Quinlan a slight chuckle as he stood up from his seat, "We appreciate your enthusiasm, Master Vos. Now, if you would give me a moment." Obi-Wan said. He took out a small holo-projector that he was concealing within his brown cloak. Upon activating it, it levitated in between Quinlan and Kenobi, but with enough distance between them for the other Jedi in the room to see as well. It then emitted a large, blue, 3-D projection of Coruscant, which quickly zoomed into a specific planetary quadrant from an isometric view. Then the first layer that was visible from the surface was stripped away, revealing the levels below that constituted what was commonly known as the underworld, and then zooming further down through individual levels. Quinlan, being acquainted with many new technologies these days, was nonetheless impressed to see such detailed topography on such a simple device.

The projector then stopped zooming at a specific level, the perspective changing from isometric to a top-down one that looked at that single level, it divided the area between evenly sized squares that Quinlan knew represented the alphanumerically labeled sectors that made up that level. Kenobi then pointed to a specific area on the plane. "In that case, you can start here. Level 1356, around here you will meet with informant Master Mundi mentioned earlier. She's a special someone with a code name of 'Sapphire'; you'll understand her name quite easily once you see her. You two will hopefully proceed to come up with a plan to retrieve the device in question, in one piece mind you."

"Of course, one piece." To Quinlan's slight dismay, Kenobi was mildly referencing a similar mission eight weeks ago where Vos was tasked to retrieve a missing starfighter with valuable information stored on the ship's data drive. Suffice it to say the drive was the only thing he brought back with him, not that it made much of a difference to the council. Vos then caught onto something else. "So, it's a woman? Well, I suppose there is light at the end of this tunnel after all."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Quinlan, you don't even know what she looks like yet!" Obi-Wan said with a hint of glee. He knew very well how his counterpart had a reputation to mingle with women with "great personalities" during a mission or two, as Vos would put it, but Kenobi decided to spare his old friend the embarrassment while in front of the council. "Don't worry about that, you'll know her when you see her. And from what I've heard, she knows how to make quite a first impression."

"I'll be the judge of that, Kenobi," Quinlan smirked. "Alright, when do I head out?" Quinlan asked.

"We already had a feeling that you would take up this mission even before you arrived, you've never let us down before, after all. Therefore we have already informed our agent that you will be coming. You're free to depart whenever you are ready, but try not to take up too much time, time is of the essence in this case." Kenobi said.

"Good point," Quinlan said approvingly. "Well, I guess I better get going then. After all, Kenobi, you mentioned that I had an "appointment" with this mystery woman of ours".

"Indeed, being late on your first date is definitely the last thing you would want to do!" Kenobi said, clearly enjoying the casual banter he had in front of high council, ignoring the subconscious demands from his peers to stop at once.

"Oh, and Quinlan?" Kenobi asked, just as Vos was beginning to walk out of the chambers. "Be careful, I know far too well how stubbornly confident you are, but please double your efforts to preserve your skin this time, trust me. May the Force be with you".

"And you too, Obi-Wan". Vos bowed again, then strode out of the council chambers.

Obi-Wan retrieved his holoprojector from the floor, using the Force to deactivate it as it was being pulled toward his extended hand, and then sat down. He was most satisfied that Quinlan had eagerly accepted this important assignment, but something was still eking in his mind, and he quickly realized that his fellow councilmembers were feeling the same way.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Master Kit Fisto was the one to speak, his voice low and methodical... He made a brief shuffle in his seat before speaking up to his fellow Jedi. "Granted, I'm not saying that anyone else could do it better than Vos, but I sense that something is still not as is should be."

Shaak Ti gave her own insight. "Well, as usual, he doesn't seem to be too fazed with any of the risks we mention to him. Even so, are you sure it was the wisest decision to assign him this mission alone?"

"Oh heavens no, Master Ti," Obi-Wan replied, "you don't know him like I do. You see, it's the added risk in these types of missions that actually motivates him to work alone without the risk of "extra weight" to burden his unorthodox plans. Besides, I think that this agent of ours will do just fine."

Master Eeth Koth and his cold face spoke up, not wanting Kenobi and his natural charisma to dominate the conversation. "I would wager that Master Ti's description is an understatement. I think that Master Vos' overtly defiant nature, and honestly, his disdain for regulations will eventually get the better of him, and I don't think any agent is going to keep him for succumbing to his own arrogance."

Yoda spoke up again. His own word instantly gaining the attention of everyone in the room, such as the respect other had of him. "Remember Master Koth, always in motion, the future is. With Master Vos, hard to tell what is to come for him. Hmm, a road with many paths we have approached, but trust in the Force, I do. Powerful, it is, and intervene, no doubt it will."

Kenobi nodded in agreement with Yoda's wisdom. "Yes, well I just hope the Force is powerful enough to anticipate whatever crazy ideas Quinlan will come up with. He seems to revel in trying to put us on edge with his sort of recklessness, being the brash maverick he is. But what am I saying? Perhaps for once, his recklessness will prove useful to him, but only time will tell."

Quinlan walked out of the council chambers and back into the elevator, activating the button to return to ground level. On the way down, he was silently thinking about his new schedule, if all went according to plan, of course. The council's new task for him wasn't anything out of the ordinary, only this instance had raised the stakes significantly compared his previous missions. Then again, danger always seemed to have a surefire way of reaching Quinlan no matter the odds. Finally, he remarked to himself, in the way that only a real egotistic would remark.

"Great, another errand for the council, at least they had enough respect to ask me politely." He smiled at that.


	2. An Enlightening Discussion

Author's Note: So, I didn't expect for my first chapter to be instantly recognized with critical attention across the entire website, but I appreciate everyone who decided to read my first chapter, and I hope that I can write a new chapter every now and again, but I will definitely NOT abandon the story at any point.

Also, from now on if there are any characters with dialogue in the form of "/text/" instead of "text", then that character is speaking in a language that is not Galatic Basic (English in our universe).

* * *

 **Episode 2A: "Of all the Places You Could've Ended Up..."**

The sun had at this point reached its zenith above Coruscant just as Quinlan was leaving the council chambers. Brandishing his important new assignment, the Jedi walked with a more serious step in his walking, his boots making a much louder impression on the floor now than when he walking previously. Like what his colleague Obi-Wan mentioned, time is of the essence, especially this time around with such an important item at risk.

As he walked, Quinlan began to consolidate his thoughts about his mission. From experience, he knew that there was always something more to the stories that the Jedi council would tell him. That is, the council was unaware of the whole truth they were trying to convey. This time, he thought back to what Ki-Adi Mundi said to him earlier, about how the ship was ambushed while en route from Kamino to Coruscant.

 _It couldn't have been pirates, they don't usually operate in that sector. It must have been bounty hunters that attacked it. But any good bounty hunter wouldn't attack a Republic ship on sight, that's just unwanted attention with nothing to gain. They had to have known about the weapon, but that's impossible, unless..._

Quinlan stopped dead in his tracks, there was another advertence in the Force that gripped his mind as he was thinking. It was a mysterious, elusive feeling, one that compelled Quinlan to follow it to its source. In his distraction, the Jedi found himself turning a corner when he was originally walking straight back to his quarters. As he continued to walk, the Force signature became increasingly powerful, and Quinlan could sense the source much more clearly than before. Irritably, it was just still a sliver beyond his total comprehension, until he happened upon a single particular door…

Aayla Secura gave a depressing sigh. After careful consideration, she finally came to the conclusion that she, in fact, was not very good at training Younglings after all.

The Twi'lek had thought that it wouldn't be a difficult ordeal in the slightest, that's at least what she assumed from what she saw of Yoda's teachings. Currently, she was attempting to teach them the basics movements of form I: Shi-Cho, the basics of the basics for lightsaber combat that each Jedi initiate learns while at the temple. There was a problem with this, however. Though Aayla obviously knew the intricacies of what she was teaching, that didn't mean she could teach them. Indeed, she was much better as a demonstrator of the art rather than an educator. She stood in the middle of the training room, feeling more akin to a ditz than a mentor as she idly watched the initiates swung training lightsabers around their bodies.

Under her breath, she cursed her decision to leave behind her Clone battalion in the Outer Rim. Of course, she knew that Commander Bly and the rest of the 327th Star Corps had completely understood her decision to take a leave of absence, but it didn't make Aayla feel any better about it. In reality, she felt somewhat guilty at the thought of leaving them without both a highly-skilled Jedi General that kept them alive after every fight, as well as that Jedi's compassionate demeanor that gave them the morale to fight in the first place. She took another look at the initiates and crossed her arms together. She thought of them for a good moment as they practiced.

 _They don't seem that different from Clone Troopers, and it scares me._ Aayla thought. She hoped that not one of these pure, innocent minds before her would witness what she already knew far too well, the carnage and sheer savagery that was tearing apart the Galaxy.

It wasn't the idea of abandoning Bly in favor of becoming a lousy teacher that had concerned Aayla the most, however. She distinctly remembered the conversation that she had with Jedi Master Windu that convinced her to take her leave of absence in the first place; she remembered it because it was one of the few meaningful conversations that she'd had in the last few days. Aayla had realized that it was part of a new disturbing occurrence formulating in her mind. Ever since she escaped the carnage on Geonosis and taken up arms as a Jedi General she noticed that all her peers have now dedicated their livelihoods to fight the Separatists, and in turn, has made any meaningful interaction with her a very difficult thing to come by.

 _I wish that this war would end sooner than later, I can't stand it anymore. No one talks to me these days about anything but this terrible, despicable war. Not ever my own mas..._

"Quinlan!" She exclaimed, surprising the several initiates who didn't sense anything beyond the room. Aayla turned her head a straight ninety-degrees towards the direction of the door, her two Lekku swinging violently from their resting positions around her head. The door opened one man, a familiarly looking Kiffar with a very familiar smile on his face. Aayla wanted to cry out more in surprise at the sight of her old master paying her a visit, but she had enough discipline to instead introduce the children to Quinlan. "Younglings, we have a visitor, Master Quinlan Vos, my own teacher, no less."

"Yes, Secura and I have an interesting history together." Quinlan said casually to the initiates before turning his attention to Aayla, "But I'm am surprised to see you. I thought you were busy with Commander Bly doing who-knows-what in the Outer Rim." Quinlan said greeting his old apprentice.

"Well, I thought a break from it all would do me some good, and I thought I could try my hand at teaching while I'm here in the temple. It's a sacred duty to train the next generation of Jedi, after all."

"Perhaps, but in that case, you should try instead to get your own padawan. Anyone can handle a class of younglings, but only someone more skilled can take upon their own apprentice, someone like you, actually."

Aayla blushed slightly at that remark. "I'm flattered that you think so highly of me. Well, if you can help me with training these Younglings here, maybe you can help change my mind", Aayla stated, giving a small hand gesture pointing to the younglings who were watching the two Masters converse.

"Sorry, I can't help right now, I've just been given an important assignment by the Council, I leave in two rotations and I don't know when I'll be coming back," Quinlan said with a straight face.

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you are successful with that."

Quinlan bowed to Aayla and began to walk out the way he came when suddenly an epiphany came over him. The way that Aayla had said that last sentence stuck in his head. Her voice had lacked her usual confident and positive tone, but more of a mellow one. Aayla was troubled with something, that much he knew, and now Quinlan was curious. He stood there thinking about his idea, much to the confusion of Aayla and the initiates. Then, he turned back around with another smile on his face.

"Actually, I changed my mind. I wasn't planning on leaving immediately anyway, so I can help you for now."

Quinlan was happy to see that his change of heart was received with silent overjoy by Aayla, who was just barely managing to hold back the pure excitement within her own mind.

"That's great, Quinlan. Well, we can begin with an overview of Shi-Cho, if you don't mind of course." Aayla said enthusiastically.

Quinlan drew his lightsaber hilt from his tunic and activated his weapon, emitting a glistening emerald blade.

"With Pleasure." Quinlan declared.

* * *

 **Episode 2B: "A Price This Good is simply too Good to be True."**

It was dark as night this time of day, though for a place this far below gleaming skyscrapers and fancy ships above. Indeed, Level 1356, Sector B4, did not see the luxury of natural sunlight as places on the surface. This place may have been dubbed "Little Theed", by some immigrants from that planet, but attempting to compare the luxurious lifestyle and breathtaking architecture of the Capital of Naboo with the scummy, filthy, and simply vile nature of the place that claims its namesake is a rather large insult to the former. The people themselves who lived down here obviously didn't care much about acting as they lived anywhere better either. Crimes were aplenty, obviously, particularly smuggling. Virboblades, death sticks, sex-slaves; with enough credits, a willing customer could find nearly anything that they desired, provided they didn't mind the risk of getting blasted if they weren't careful with their mouth.

For all that, however, Little Theed has always maintained an unusually low amount of murders per capita compared to neighboring levels. No demographic professional has yet to come up with a concrete explanation for why this is, but some of the locals speculate that perhaps it is since most of the illegal dealings are done by professionals who know better than to publically brandish their contraband and reputation. After all, as some would put it bluntly, "Too many bodies complicates things too much, too often."

Cad Bane, however, didn't come all the way down here for petty arms smuggling; he quit that business after he realized that killing people was a much more profitable venture, and was easier too. Right now, the Duros bounty hunter was walking through a side street toward the local cantina, a place some have taken to calling "Jay's Joint". Supposedly, it was after was a young and spunky smuggler known simply as Jay, who had a reputation for his good luck. Though he disappeared under mysterious circumstances one day and never returned. Bane always scoffed at the concept of luck. To him, there were only two things that really mattered in life: your blaster, and who you have to use it on. There was a low hum of music that gradually increased in intensity, signaling that he must be on the right track.

Walking along the narrow corridors of the street with his hat covering his face from the overhead lights, Bane was always keeping an eye out for anything suspicious while being totally inconspicuous to others. It was a technique that was not always appreciated or noticed by regular people, but which was still very important. Bane knew that he had many enemies, and it wouldn't be good if anyone found out that he was down here. He calmly walked past a squad of unsuspecting patrol droids and then turned a street corner and had a look at the Cantina himself.

 _Hmm. Well, it's better looking than most other dumps I've been to in this rathole, at least from the outside._ Bane thought to himself.

The thumping of his boots hitting the metal ground and the shuffle of his gear was gradually drowned out by the music that was being emitted from inside the cantina, the genre of which didn't appeal to Bane, with its heavy bass-focused rhythmic beat being more likely to induce a headache than to evoke pleasure or satisfaction. He reached the singular door that leads inside, which surprisingly opened automatically; most doors this far down in the Underworld usually were opened by an electronic hand lock for security purposes. Passing through the door and into the building Bane's senses were immediately bombarded with the smell of Booze, an even greater drowning of terrible music, a taste of sweat in the air from dancers, and even the sight of a few Twi'leks showing off some of their exotic "features" to approving customers; Bane was not remotely interested in that part, but he still couldn't help but stare for a few seconds longer than a simple glance.

 _This is less of a simple cantina and more of a full-on nightclub_ , Bane thought, not that it mattered to him what he perceived this place to be, he had a meeting with someone, someone supposedly important, and hopefully, rich. However, he had naught the slightest place to look in the club itself, for Cad was given only given a mysterious message to come down to Coruscant for a job opportunity and to meet him here, at this specific cantina on this specific level.

 _I ought to ask my employer for twice my rate to bother with this rabble._ Naturally, like any good bounty hunter, he hated to be left out when it came to the details, including the details to get the details that got him paid. He continued walking around the club until he reached a moderately-sized sitting area with half-curtained booths and roundtables that, coupled with the already dim lighting of the building, made people sitting inside practically blended into the scenery.

Then, bane noticed a faint sliver of light coming from one of the booths. He walked over to inspect it, soon realizing that it was coming from a dome-like object around someone's head, and Bane immediately realized who it was.

"Embo? So, you're waiting for an 'employer' as well?"

The Kyuzo was brandishing his bowcaster to his side and laid his boots on the table. He looked up to the bounty hunter in front of him and gave a simple nod. It had been some time since Bane had worked with Embo, and he had to remind himself that he wasn't exactly a conversationalist. Then again, keeping quiet about some things is itself a very good quality at times.

"Well, this is beginning to get interesting." Bane remarked to his colleague, "Whoever is hiring us is certainly paying top-credit for this job of his. Say, if you're here, then does that mean…?"

Bane decided to take another look at the entrance as he was pondering what was going on. Just as he did, a woman with albino skin, corpse-like eyes, and was bald except for an auburn ponytail and a metal antenna, strode in through the door, walking the type of stride that could only be described as "malignant grace", by onlookers.

 _Aurra Sing? Now, this is getting interesting._ Bane thought while watching her walk towards their spot in the club. _Whoever is hiring is either a pessimist, or very smart, but definitely rich._ On the way, a few uncourageous bystanders hesitated before moving out of Sing's way. However, a Rodian who didn't get the memo and prioritized drinking his orange alcohol over the woman decided to stand in her way. Then he was given a very angry and threatening look from the woman, just the kind that spelled in his mind "I wonder how long it will take to make you squeal". He moved aside, choosing not to risk it, or perhaps he was already too drunk to stand up to her verbally. Aurra eventually made her way towards the other two and gave a very bad attempt at a friendly introduction.

"So, you two hat-heads are working with me? What a letdown."

Embo glanced menacingly toward Aurra. He was very fond of his unique dome-hat; to him, it was not simply a cosmetic item, but rather a tool that he made much better use of than the garbage that Aurra Sing used. He sat up and replied to her in his native language, which both Aurra and Bane had a firm understanding of.

"/Quiet, you're just jealous that you can't hide that ridiculous antenna sticking out of your head!/"

Bane Chimed into the conversation, he wasn't very fond of Aurra himself, but he didn't have time to bother with fighting with her and chose to de-escalate the situation.  
"Well, it seems you haven't changed much either. By the way, are you here for an 'employer'?"

"Not, just any employer from what I was told. He transmitted me the coordinates as to where we would meet him." Aurra pointed to a door that neither Bane nor Embo noticed walking in," And it leads precisely into that door over there."

"Good enough." Bane acknowledged. He rose from his seat and strode toward the door, with Aurra and Embo close behind him. They open the door expecting a room with their employer inside ready to discuss details but were walking back outside the nightclub through a backdoor. Bane was about to comment about his frustration when all three heard a faint beeping noise coming from one of the nearby trash containers. Upon opening the metal lid revealed a small holo-transmitter that was emitting a red light, a request from someone on the other side to answer.

Bane scooped up the transmitter from the trash, bringing some undesirable materials with it, and activated it. Immediately, the projection appeared of a figure who appeared to be expecting them. The person was dressed very heavily, with clothes covering head to toe with a cloak over the shoulders and a mask to conceal their facial features.

"So, after all the cloak-and-dagger that I've put you through, you've still decided to take up my offer. Very good, I need very confident people for this." The figure said in a low but stern voice.

"I accept my contract on a need-to-know basis, and I mean that I need to know what I'm getting myself into." Bane said.

The person was not at all intimidated by Bane's demands, instead of replying with a mellow tone.

"Apologies, but I can not afford to be so reckless with my words. You see, if I were discovered to be handing out this contract to you bounty hunters, then the Jedi would hunt me down like a dog."

"The Jedi?", Aurra repeated in surprise. "What do they have to do with this?"

"Oh, nothing much besides killing one of them, my dear." The man said in a malignant tone. It appeared to the trio of bounty hunters that this man had no quarrels with the potential consequences of his proposal. To Bane, either this man was extremely stupid, or extremely confident.

After hearing those words echo in his cranium, Bane thought that he shouldn't have been surprised to expect that this contract would go this far to the extreme. What else can you do with three of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy?

"Well then mister", Bane began "you're in luck. You've got the right man for the job; I know a thing or two about taking down Jedi. But who are we killing, and for how much?"

"Master Quinlan Vos, the Kiffar. I have sources that tell me he will be coming through this sector in a few days' time in search of something, and someone. Killing him will reward you Three Million credits, which I'm sure you will split amongst yourself in whatever way you see fit, but you must prove to me that he is dead before I hand out a single Datarie."

"Three million? What makes you want to pay so much for this specific Jedi?" Bane asked with unbridled curiosity. "The CIS is only offering one million credits per Jedi head you know."

"Let's just say, this Jedi has made the mistake of crossing me the first time he meddled in my ambitions. With your help, he won't live to do it again."

 _Revenge_ _doesn't have a fixed price._ Bane thought, before replying.

"Well, how will we contact you again once we kill this Jedi?"

"I believe I gave your associate Aurra a special set of wrist communicators via a special delivery to contact me with, you can show me the body to prove your deed once you have completed the dirty work. I believe that is enough for you to get on, and I already know how eager you all are to start, so I will leave you to your own devices. Oh, and one last thing."

"What is it?" Bane asked.

"Do take care and remember to clean up after yourselves when you're done!" He implored in a sarcastic tone. The transmitter then suddenly deactivated itself. Bane crushed the device and threw it to the ground, then turning to the other two to talk.

"/Was he talking about the Jedi, or the garbage/?" Embo asked, pointing to the mess that Bane made when he picked up the transmitter.

"Who knows, this guy could be a clean freak." Bane somewhat jokingly remarked.

The three didn't bother with any additional small talk, especially since they each knew that they were doing the same things now as they always did. They did, however, take a minute to agree to meet again in several hours to discuss their plan in more detail, and parted ways for a few hours.

They walked away into the encroaching shadows of the back alleys and streets. Unbeknownst to them, one of those shadows, perched on top of one of the nearby building's rooftops, was sticking out, watching them leave with an unseen but intense concentration. When the bounty hunters turned different corners and were no longer in sight, the silhouette, which was draped in a cloak that covered its body, silently blended back into the darkness from whence it came.


	3. Master and Apprentice

Author's Note: Hey, I hope you enjoyed my second chapter introducing Bounty Hunters into the story, including everyone's favorite, Cad Bane. I can't wait to start writing about him and the others. Remember, if you like this story, then don't forget to favorite, review, and share this story with your fellow fanfiction writers!

* * *

 **Episode 3A: "I Always Liked a Good Show."**

Aayla could not help but feel slightly annoyed at her situation. She had left the teaching of the class of initiates to her old Master, Quinlan, and now he himself was trying to connect to the class. The children gathered in a semicircle around the Jedi Master, each with enthusiastic looks on their faces, something Aayla seemed to find missing when she was teaching them.

"Well, where do we begin? Quinlan began, "Shii-Cho is the bedrock of Lightsaber combat; every Jedi must learn this form to master any other. The core principles of Form 1 are simplicity and fluidity, and focuses more on disarming an opponent than killing them, which is good for all of you since we don't want to be killing our sparring partners, do we?"

"No!" The initiates said haphazardly.

Aayla rolled her eyes at this winged lecture. She was beginning to wonder of Quinlan himself actually knew what he was doing. She focused her vision back on her Master as he took out his lightsaber and swiftly ignited it. The green blade hummed quietly as the Jedi Master continued his lecture.

"Good. Now, I will demonstrate some of the maneuvers that form the basis of Shii-Cho. Watch carefully, and don't get too close."

Quinlan stepped back and put both his hands on his hilt. He put his right foot back and assumed a comfortable stance. He began to swing his blade in smooth, flowing motions, in both the horizontal and vertical directions. To Aayla, it was essentially the exact same thing that she had been attempting to show to the students the entire morning, but something felt different about it when Quinlan was doing it. Perhaps she was reading far too into it, but she could feel a much greater aura of confidence in Quinlan's demonstration like he had been preparing for this demonstration. Eventually, Quinlan stopped, deactivating his lightsaber and looking over to the initiates

"That doesn't look so hard, does it? Now, I want all of you to practice these maneuvers yourselves, just like how I did it, alright? I'll be watching to give any pointers, too."

The initiates bowed their heads to the Jedi and each drew their own lightsabers, training ones as they were far too young to build their own. A flurry of blue and green illuminated the room as the children began to mimic the moves they had just seen. Aayla did not know what to expect now. If she couldn't teach anything worthwhile within several hours, surely her master wouldn't fare any better, right?

That mentality was precisely the reason that she found herself so surprised at what she saw next. To both her delight and shock, the initiates were actually swinging their lightsabers in the smooth and fluid fashion that they were instructed to do. Though she hid any physical reaction, she was still left completely dumbstruck at what was happening. There she was, watching the initiates perform something that she had attempted to show them for several hours with little success, but now suddenly doing perfectly after a lecture of just a few minutes! Quinlan must have sensed this surprise within Aayla, as he walked over and patted her on the shoulder as a way of saying "you're welcome".

Aayla collected herself and turned to him, seeing a small smirk.

"You know, you are sometimes hard to understand, Quin." Aayla jokingly remade. "What did you do?"

Quinlan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it seemed pretty easy to me. You had some time yourself to teach, right? What did you do?"

"I'm not sure really. I suppose you just have a better ability to show off."

Quinlan chucked at that remark. "Well, maybe if you spent less time here and more time with me, you might even pick up on a few more of my teachings to 'show off' to these students. It would be just like old times, won't it?"

Aayla stood silent for a moment. She looked over at the initiates, still swinging their lightsabers, a few of them sparring. She realized that with the intervention of her master, she had little else to teach them for today, but instead she had an opportunity to show them something else.

"Perhaps that can be arranged after you give help me one last demonstration," Aayla replied.

"And what would that be?" Quinlan asked.

"A spar. Right here, in front of the initiates. It will be just like old times, right?"

Quinlan was somewhat taken aback by this suggestion. It had been some time since they dueled, and this occasion was the first of which she, the apprentice had gone forth and challenged him, the master. He was hesitant to answer, worried even, but after seeing Aayla sheer sense of determination on her face, he knew there was not backing down now.

"Well now, it's been a while since we've done that, hasn't it? Alright, I accept your challenge." Quinlan said with his typical charisma, casting aside any doubts in his mind. The stage was now set for a duel between master and apprentice.

A warm grin slowly grew over Aayla's blue face as Quinlan accepted her proposal. She caught the attention of the initiates.

"Everyone, listen closely. My master and I would like to show you something special. We will spar here for all of you to watch and learn. If you would please move to the corners of the room as to not interfere."

She nodded in approval as they complied with her request. She then used the force to dim the light source in the room and closed the windows, thereby removing any visual distractions. In the mild darkness, the two combatants moved to opposite ends of the room, with plenty of space in between them Aayla bowed to Quinlan, who bowed faithfully in return. They both removed took out their lightsabers and quickly ignited them, the glow of blue and green filling the void of darkness in the room.

For Aayla, she felt both enthusiastic and cautious to fight. She knew that her master Quinlan was skilled, but so was she. She placed her right hand on her lightsaber and moved into a stance. She extended her arms and held her Lightsaber in a two-handed guard, with the hilt in front of her body and the tip pointing at an angle towards Quinlan. Her eyes tightened, her breathing slowed, and her mind was cleared. She was ready to face her opponent.

Quinlan did not know whether to feel confident or worried about facing Aayla. On one hand, since she was his apprentice, in theory, she would be at least somewhat predictable in a fight. However, on the other hand, what Aayla did know made her into a very competent and skilled fighter herself, and whatever fighting she did with her Clone Batallion might have honed her skills. He knew that there was little time left to contemplate what would happen. Now, their Lightsabers would do the talking. Quinlan bottled up his worries and assumed his stance in response to Aayla. He put his two hands on his lightsaber and slowly moved them over to his right side of his body and held the blade straight up in the classic Ataru stance.

 _Alright Aayla, let's see how you how much you've learned_. Quinlan said in his mind, clearly wanting Aayla to hear through the Force.

...

Quinlan was sweating now. He and Aayla had not actually begun fighting, but the tension between the two could not be higher. It was obvious to both combatants that this was not going to be an easy fight by any stretch of the imagination. After all, the master and apprentice knew the much of the same fighting styles, techniques, and tactics. In essence, Aayla and Quinlan were but mirrors to each other, each seeing that their opponent was much like themselves. They were currently circling each other in the darkened room with their stances, staring straight into each other's eyes. both fighters waiting until they found a weakness in the other's defense and exploiting it. In a way, they were fighting a battle, a mental battle, and they were deadlocked with neither the courage to charge forward.

Aayla looked on and pondered what to do. She knew that at the moment, she could not attack her master with his guard still up. Somehow, she needed to create a distraction, even one that lasted but a mere moment would be enough to unbalance Quinlan's defense and allow her to charge forward. She sensed any objects of interest that could be manipulated until she remembered the younglings, hidden in the darkness in the corner of the room, watching curiously. All without looking away from Quinlan, Aayla concentrated her efforts on one single initiate and their training lightsaber. Using the darkness to keep anyone from noticing, without looking away from Vos, she used the Force to levitate the lightsaber into the air, before letting go of it.

Quinlan heard an odd, metallic noise coming from elsewhere in the room, his eyes dashed around the room in instinct; a critical error. Aayla suddenly charged at him with lightning speed. Green and blue blades met fiercely as Quinlan barely had enough time to block Aayla's strike. Aayla pushed off his blade, driving him back and kept the attack. She struck at Quinlan with Djem So, attempting to overwhelm her him with powerful and wide swings.

Vos was not having an easy time defending from his apprentice's onslaught. His opponent was obviously skilled and controlled, and defending with just his knowledge of Shien, a form tailored to deflecting blasters, not lightsabers, did not make his situation ideal. He needed to come up with something to pacify Aayla's attacking fury before he ran out of room to retreat. He deflected another blow from Aayla, spinning his body around counter-clockwise. In the midst of his spin, he twisted his right wrist and held his blade backward, in the reverse grip. Quinlan spun back towards Aayla, who was ready to bring down her blade vertically on top of his head. In a swift motion, he brought his blade up and block Aayla's horizontally. Suddenly, Aayla was thrown back several feet as Quinlan used his free left hand to push her away with the Force.

Quinlan wasted no time to turn the tables on Aayla. Just as Aayla recovered from his kinetic push, she was suddenly bombarded with his own offensive. He was using Ataru, his specialty, striking hard and fast swings from multiple directions. Aayla, though being skilled in Ataru personally, found herself worried. His attack came with such speed and smoothness that they appeared almost as a blur to her. She realized that ever her knowledge of Form V: Djem So, the perseverance form, with all its parries and counterstrikes could not withstand Quinlan's furious attack forever. Aayla knew she had to come up with something quickly before she found herself overpowered by her master.

A thought came to her just as Vos was about to strike. In a masterstroke of agility, Aayla completely dodged the diagonal slash, spinning around and bringing her right foot up. The kick connected perfectly with Vos's face, and Quinlan recoiled a few feet from the sheer force of the blow. He took a few steps back, breathing heavier than before and giving him a few second's time to think. Admittedly, Aayla had made some significant improvements in her lightsaber skills since the last time he had dueled her, no doubt to her constantly using it often on the battlefield. Finally, it seemed that she now had the skill that he had expected from a fellow Jedi Knight, no longer a mere student. Still, Vos wasn't about to surrender so easily to Aayla, but he felt that he would need something more than just skill to beat her. It also came to his realization that Aayla herself was enjoying this fight thoroughly and obviously found an excuse to duel him with the initiates having to "learn" something.

He looked down at his lightsaber once again. Suddenly, an idea came to him.

He surprised Aayla and deftly tossed away his lightsaber with a flick of the wrist, the hilt fading into the darkness of the room. He outstretched his arms, too, and cocked his head slightly to his side. Aayla was left slightly dumbstruck from this action before she realized, or she thought she realized that he was, taunting her into attacking. She could visualize Quinlan saying something cocky such as "Well, what are you waiting for?" or "Too afraid to attack? I'm not surprised."

Aayla, however, was not going to be deterred by mere words. She rushed forward at the seemingly defenseless Quinlan, making a bold overhead slash toward his body. But instead of cleaving the Jedi in two, her wrist was caught in the air by a very fast grab by Quinlan. Using her own forward momentum against her, Vos put a firm hand on her abdomen and soundly tossed the Twi'lek directly over and behind him. She landed hard on her back, stunned momentarily. She opened her eyes to see that her lightsaber's pointed tip right above her head. She was defeated.

She quickly felt embarrassed with her situation and accepted a hand from Quinlan to help her up off of the ground.

The Master and Apprentice then bowed to each other and shook hands. Aayla telepathically turned back up the room's lights to normal luminosity, revealing the children that hid in the back corners during the duel. Aayla turned to face them with a motherly look, seeing that they far too many questions to ask at one time.

"Well, I believe that concludes our session for today, young ones, take heart and learn from what you just witnessed. One day, I'm sure you will all become just as skilled as the two of us." The Initiates quickly bowed to the older Jedi and began walking out of the room, leaving the master and apprentice alone.

Quinlan walked over and gave Aayla another pat on the shoulder. "You know, Aayla, you lied to yourself earlier."

Aayla looked over to Vos, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're not a bad teacher, not at all."

* * *

 **Episode 3B: "Unusual Business? Business as Usual, Then."**

It had been a few hours since the trio of bounty hunters agreed to take up an assassination by a mysterious individual. Aurra Sing had invited Cad Bane and Embo to an apartment flat talk "business". Bane had arrived early, and so the two waited for Embo to arrive.

Bane was growing restless. It wasn't bad enough that he had already been sitting on an old, half-broken couch for some time now in a dingy flat, but even worse was having to share it with Aurra Sing. Indeed, from his experience working with her, she always seemed to be just a straw short of killing the nearest person in sight. Bane knew that it wasn't wise to provoke her, but he had little else to do until Embo arrived.

"So," he began, "Who did you kill to get us this place anyway?"

Aurra was busy looking out the window into the barren streets below. She didn't bother looking at Bane.

"Not anyone important. Why do you care?"

"I care because it's not smart to do something like that. Don't be stupid, Aurra, everyone has connections down here; you kill someone and eventually, someone else will notice."

Aurra looked over to Bane now, clearly annoyed. "Just like how the Jedi will know that we killed one of their own? What's the difference, Bane?"

"The difference is that the Jedi are too busy with their war these days track down a killer, and at least we're getting paid to do it. Killing random people is both unprofitable and risky, you get what I'm saying?

"Shut it, Bane. I didn't come here to listen to your babbling. Just keep quiet, will you?"

"Fine", Bane replied, "I'd rather talk to Embo anyway."

He was glad that that conversation was over. Now he took a second look at the place he was sitting in. The apartment that Aurra had "selected" for the trio was not very impressive from a surfacer's perspective, with an obvious sense of dismay and downtroddenness emanating from it. The main living space they were sitting in was filled with a haphazard and two bedrooms and refresher room to the side. There was a single large metal table that occupied much of the small living room. And a grey carpet covered the floor, but this carpet has defiantly seen better days, and perhaps a better smell too.

Eventually, there was a beeping sound coming from the door. Bane looked over at Aurra, who looked back menacingly. A single look at those two dead-looking eyes told Bane that he was going to have to answer it.

 _Of course, because you're so busy doing absolutely nothing anyway._

Much to his own dismay, Bane got up and walked towards the door. He pressed the large blinking button on the electronic padlock and the door opened vertically to reveal that it was indeed the Kuyzo who was outside.

"What took you so long?" Bane asked. Embo said nothing, giving Bane a blank stare. For Bane, this sort of behavior from his fellow bounty hunter was peculiar, to say the least. He assumed that whatever he was doing was either too disinteresting to mention, or too disturbing.

"Whatever, just come in and we can get going.

The two walked into apartment room. Aurra had heard the commotion at the door, and she closed the window that she was looking out of and walked towards the other two. They joined together in the middle of the room and took up seats at the table. Embo, to the two other's surprise, pulled out a small, portable holo-projector from one of her pockets and placed it on the table. Immediately, it activated, emitting a top-down perspective of Sector A of Level 1356, with important details such as the main and side streets, and buildings whose elevation were represented by basic topography. There were also few colored symbols scattered around to represent various points of interest in the area.

"Oh, that's what you were doing." Bane remarked, "But, how did you get it? You didn't actually map it yourself, did you?"

Embo nodded. Aurra sing remained silent as she analyzed the map that Embo presented. Soon, she looked back up at the other two and cleared her throat.

"Well, here's what we know," Aurra began." We're told Jedi we're hunting down is searching for something. Now, if he's looking down here, he will most likely look first around places like the Cantina, or the markets."

"Yes, we aren't dumb, Aurra. What's your point?"

Aurra gave Bane another glare for that remark. "My point is that it shouldn't be too hard to track him down. I think you and Embo should stay on street level to find him while I stay on the roofs. You find him, I'll kill him."

Bane scoffed at her. "That's it? Remember, we're not dealing with some regular target, we're talking a Jedi, and one who must know his smarts if he's coming down here alone; an ambush will just get us killed. We need to come up with something better, something that will lower his guard."

"/We can drug him/," Embo suggested.

Bane looked over inquisitively at Embo. "Drugs, like a neurotoxin? Hm, that could be a good idea, actually. But, how do we inject the stuff into him? I mean, we can't just shoot a syringe into him, he would dodge that."

"/Are you sure/?"

"Yes, a Jedi's reflexes are like a machine's, he could probably catch a dart mid-air before it even hits him. No, if we're going to try drugging him, he need another way to deliver a serum into his system. Maybe, maybe someone could get close to him and without arousing suspicion, then they can inject a serum into him when he isn't expecting it."

"But who will do it, one of us?" Aurra asked. "Not sure if you've noticed, but none of us look innocent enough to fool a Jedi. We should just try and ambush him. Come on Bane, quit being a coward. Three bounty hunters on one Jedi are very good odds if you ask me."

"I'm not being a coward Aurra, I'm being smart, definitely smarter than you. Now shut up and let me think... Alright, I can just hire someone who doesn't look dangerous, and he can deliver a serum into him that way."

Aurra scoffed and rolled her eyes as Bane finished. "Are you really going to go along with this stupid idea, Bane? Embo?"

Aurra looked at both their faces for an answer. Both men simply nodded back at her, signaling that they both were committed to this plan. She grunted as she realized that their minds were made up. "Well, I suppose if you two get yourselves killed by that Jedi with that plan of yours, I'll get the entire reward from our employer. Alright, Bane, we'll go with your plan."

Bane smiled, satisfied that he, at last, put some sense into Aurra. "Glad to see we're finally on the same page. Now, let's go into the details."

The three bounty hunters spent the next half hours or so going into the intricacies of their experimental plan. They used the holo-projector map potential routes that the Jedi would take and likely areas he would visit; Aurra specifically highlighted certain buildings with elevation that she could use to view the whole area from a single vantage point. They discussed strategy in a worst-case scenario with fighting the Jed In the end, the trio had formulated and refined their plan. They would track down this Jedi, whoever he was, and use a random person to bait him into lowering his guard and poison him. Once that happened, he would hopefully be too disoriented to run, and if he did anyway, they would hunt him down.

"Well then, I think this concludes his little meeting." Bane said in a casual manner. He swept the holo-projector with his hand, deactivating the tiny device as it fell onto the floor with a small thud on the cheap carpet. He then put his boots on the table and turned to Aurra. "Well, now what?"

Aurra found the right opportunity to vent her frustration with Bane without having to kill him. "Now, you both get out, now."

"What for, we're keeping you from getting cozy in your new little home?" Bane asked.

"Yeah, especially with your dirty boots staining the carpet, and the table!" Aurra exclaimed in sarcasm, which went as well as Bane had expected: horribly.

Bane stood up and gave her a smile before he turned and walked out toward the door. Embo, who didn't like Aurra much the same as Bane, got up right after Bane. He had opened the door and was about to walk out, but not before saying one last thing to her.

"Well, I hope your share of our contract is enough for you to make some proper renovations, especially for the carpet." Bane said, and then walked out with Embo in tow; the door immediately closed as the two bounty hunters walked back out into the open.

"/Where are you going now/?" Embo casually asked as the two walked down the side alley.

"Nowhere special, just need to hire some cheap whore off the street for our job. What about you?"

Embo hesitated for a split second before replying. "/I want to find my own flat. One without a witch./"

Bane, unsurprised from that answer based on the bad blood between Embo and Aurra. He then put a hand on his hat, adjusting it while thinking about Aurra herself. "Oh, I see. Well, you don't mind if I help you, would you?


	4. A Refined Sense of Pessimism

Author's Note: So, I recently looked at my traffic stats, and I was surprised to see a few views coming from outside the United States. Il semble que mon histoire se déplace vraiment!

Anyway, I didn't expect to post the third chapter so early, but it just, well, happened. Don't expect that to become a regularity though, I still plan on updating only about every week or so. Don't forget to review, favorite, recommend, and follow this story if you're really getting into it.

 _ **Chapter 4: A Refined Sense of Pessimism**_

Aayla gave another sigh as she watched the Younglings leave the room and walk haphazardly into the Jedi Temple hallways. She leaned on the closest wall, crossed her arms, and retreated into a state of thought. For now, they wouldn't know the horrors out there if they are still learning here on Coruscant, but there was always the possibility that the war might come to them, in more ways than one.

Quinlan meanwhile was meditating; he was sitting legs crossed and eyes closed in the middle of the room. It wasn't unusual for Jedi to find their balance in the Force whenever they saw fit be it in a temple or outside on another planet, and Quinlan, even if he thought the peace afforded by meditation was only a temporary state of the Universe that leads back to more violence, knew the benefits of meditation after a battle. In his mind, it was a natural cycle. Chaos and Peace, Order and Anarchy, Light and Dark, Jedi and Sith; to him, these paired terms shared the same relationships with each other, being locked in a perpetual cycle of domination over the other that spans all of time and space. But there was always something that could disrupt the balance of any of these pairs of things, and there just so happened to be one now. The disturbance was Blue, feminine, very curvy, and right in front of him.

Aayla was slowly reducing herself to her state of worry. Without the Younglings to teach and to keep her mind off the things that are elsewhere and out of her control, her mind was resorting to irrational questioning.

 _I wonder how Commander Bly is keeping himself busy in the Outer Rim without me. He better not and get himself killed without my "Jedi Radar" to guide his every step. No, I shouldn't say that; I'm the one that left him after all, but does he even miss me? Does he even-_

"I'm sure your Commander Bly is doing just fine along with the rest of his brothers, Aayla. Those Clones have a mettle and a sense of determination that I haven't sensed in any other lifeform, not even other Jedi.", She turned to see her Kiffar Master sitting in the middle of the room, where just moments ago the two had participated in an intense duel. She realized that he had just read her mind without her speaking, another one of his "neat tricks". If she were any other Jedi she would protest this blatant disregard for mental privacy, but she knew better than to ask why Quinlan decided to sneak himself into her inner thoughts. In truth, was an inescapable fate being near him for extended periods of time. After being apprenticed for him, and being near him for several years on end, this normally offensive act was more of a normality to Aayla, albeit still unnerving.

"Nothing could be kept a secret to you forever _._ " She admitted.

"That's not true, actually. For example, I still don't know why you always act so embarrassed in front of me." Quinlan said happily.

"Embarrassed, what do you mean?"

"That's how you always felt when I beat you in spars, first in front of Masters, which may have been natural, but now in front of your own Younglings. You think I didn't notice the pattern?" Quinlan asked, continuing his crusade of teasing. "Trust me Aayla, you haven't changed much in that regard."

"I feel no such thing, Quinlan," Aayla denied. She was beginning to remember why she was so very eager to leave his apprenticeship; the teasing eventually got to her, and she had a breaking point. She rebalanced herself off the side of the wall she was leaning on before walking over to where Quinlan was sitting and sat down mirroring him in body position, attempting to meditate at least at half the concentration of her Master. "You know, I thought you came by to 'help' me with training the Younglings, not attempt to discourage me."

Quinlan disregarded her increasing sense of annoyance with more of his charming wit. "I wouldn't call that discouragement, I call it enlightenment; I'm enlightening you to the fact that after all these years, I still have much to teach you."

He was not helping Aayla with her built up stress in the slightest, most evidenced by her next comment.

"And what is it that you, the oh-so-wise and powerful Master Quinlan Vos, still haven't bothered teaching me yet? Aayla asked while wildly flailing around her hands and Lekku when describing her master. The intensity of her being intensified with every word she spoke. She was wondering what sort of blatant nonsense her old master would pull on her now. "Even with all my years under your tutelage, what could else did you just happened to forget to teach me, to cheat death, to have a personality as ridiculous or nonsensical as yours?"

"No, I don't think so. Either of those things would take too much time entirely," Quinlan replied. "Well, apart from martial arts, including kicks to the face, I think I need to teach you how to properly relax. The stress of the war is getting to your head Aayla, your reality is beginning to evade you and leave you with half-truths and deceptions implanted in your mind."

Aayla snapped, she had about enough of this Kiffar in front of him. Quinlan was not showing the slightest case of verbal understanding with her, and by his choice of speaking in philosophical nonsense, he didn't care either. She stood up, her boots making an especially loud impact on the floor. She Looked down at the still sitting Jedi, who was giving her a warm smile, which made her rage even more intense. She then unleashed a rage of words in front of him.

"That's easy for you to say, Quinlan, since all I see you do these days is either prance about the temple and boast about your skill and wisdom to your fellow Jedi, or disappear into the shadows of Coruscant and do who-knows-what, and then come back the next day pretending nothing happened. You think I didn't notice the pattern?" She asked in a half-mocking tone.

Quinlan lost his smile and replaced it with an expression of confusion and surprise. He was very used to being chastised by members of the Council for his erratic behavior, Master Windu being the worst offender by far. But to experience this torture for his own apprentice? This was a new revelation that he wasn't sure he liked.

"But, you're not the one who has to witness their soldiers die horrible, excruciating deaths on the battlefields of this terrible, brutal war. I have to hold each and every one of their limp bodies in my arms, looking into all of their tearful, sorrowful eyes, and I watched them leave me one after the other. I have had to stomach having to repeat that process every new day, each one being possibly worse than the last, without anyone else to help me, especially not the likes of you. That is my reality, Quinlan, I don't know what kind of twisted reality you pretend to live in, but you seemed to have spared yourself the bother of such disturbing and undesirable things as I have been forced to adopt. Do you seriously think that you are so entitled and deserving of your lazy, carefree lifestyle that you would resort to waving off other peoples suffering, even mine? How can you call yourself a Jedi Master if you refuse to show even the slightest hint of compassion to people around you? You should be ashamed of yourself!" She finally yelled at Quinlan.

Quinlan was noticeably shocked to hear these accusations coming from his former apprentice. Of all the years of training her, fighting alongside her, and sharing such a close bond with her, this was the first time that she had so directly hostile to him.

 _Oh no, she's in far worse condition than I had thought. She even refused my Kiffar hospitality!_

 _"_ Listen, Aayla, I didn't mean to hurt you with what I said or did, I was just trying to help you."

"Really, I would have guessed that you were the one who needed help, Master."

Quinlan realized that his angle of attack was not working, so he tried another approach: aggressive logic.

"Don't lie to yourself, Aayla. I know you to be very tolerant of my actions, no matter as either a Jedi Master or a Padawan, you never once mentioned it, never once objected to what I did. I thought that's why you've adored me for so long after you were Knighted and left my side. I think that it is in fact, YOU, who has changed for the worse. I can't any longer sense any sort of innocence within yourself, and instead, a disturbing sense of desperation and contempt has filled that void in your heart."

"I-I don't know what you are talking about, I can't believe you're lying to me again!" Aayla quickly retorted in fractured inflection. She wasn't yet aware of what Quinlan was getting at.

"It's very noticeable, I might add," He continued" In fact, I could sense it emanating from your presence right when I walked into the room. And it was the reason that I didn't leave you after I told you I was busy with an assignment. This constant state of war and loss that you have voluntarily accepted has unknowingly made you desperate to keep and preserve all of what you hold so dearly. Yourself, your dignity, your Clones, even your own legacy. Is that why you chose to leave it all behind and come back to Coruscant to train Younglings, to keep your mind away from your own subconscious darkness? Is that why you are so hostile and mistrusting of me, the person who you've known and respected for nearly your entire life? Are you so desperate to deny your problems that you would slander your own Master with lies?"

"Well I, well I guess, I never saw it that way, to be honest." Aayla was losing it at this point, she had lost all her proper restraints and was just short of breaking down in front of him. She turned around and covered her face with her right arm as if she told herself to be ashamed to talk like that to her own master. This was especially true when she considered that he had been entirely truthful and justified with his statements. "You're right about me, Quinlan. I really do have so much to learn from you. I'm a terrible Jedi Master."

If it were anyone else in the Order listening to her, they might have chastised her for her behavior, but Quinlan knew better than that. Instead, he silently stood up from his meditative trance and walked over toward her. He put a hand on her right shoulder and turned her around. He pulled aside her hand from her face, slightly reddened from shame and guilt, and looked into her Hazel eyes, which were already beginning to show a couple of tears.

"Hey, don't say that to yourself. I know how confused and lost you are now with your emotions, don't hide it from me, honestly, I feel the same way at times, the darkness sometimes takes a liking to knawing at my being," He began "I know how hard this conflict is on all of us, and sometimes it may make us anxious about the future that lays ahead, but as a very wise Jedi once told me, 'We must focus on the here and now, to trust in ourselves and our friends, knowing that we will make it through any obstacle, any hardship, if we have faith in each other, our training and tradition, and faith in the Force to guide us'."

Aayla was more or less humbled by Quinlan heart-to-heart, it was like he was speaking to her as if she were ten years younger and still his Padawan. In truth, it felt very comforting to her. Her face softened, and then she took his hand off her shoulder.

"Thank you. I've forgotten how good you are with your words."

Quinlan was happy to see that she was in a better mood, for now. It would certainly take more than a simple speech to break Aayla out of her mental slump, but he had already done all he could for her at the moment.

"Maybe I should get back to my mission, and leave you to think about what I said."

"That would probably be best," Aayla said meekly.

Quinlan gave a simple nod to her and walked towards the door. He walked out of the room in haste, he still had a job to do.

* * *

 _I knew it was going to be too good to be true._ Bane thought as he examined his new dilemma. He had just walked into new Embo's "place". From the outside, it may have looked like a half-ruined flat squeezed in between two larger buildings, but trying to find words sufficient for the interior was impossible. In his mind, comparing Aurra's apartment to this dump was like trying to compare a Twi'lek dancer to a Toydarian one, but perhaps even that comparison was generous.

"Embo, when I agreed to help you, I meant that we were going to work together to find somewhere that was halfway decent and didn't have Aurra Sing as an occupant. No offense, but you know how I don't like leaving a job half-finished."

Embo ignored Bane's irrationally high standards for housing as he himself was surveying the inside. They had both entered what had seemed like the main living space. There was a half-broken couch that laid next to a metal table that with a strange smell in the air, from which he deduced that this place must have been once used as a narcotics house, where lowly scum would cook up the ingredients for Death Sticks and other narcotics and then package it and sell them for quick credits. There were also signs that there was some "entertainment" here, with a few pieces of lewd clothing strewn about the room and even a black whip nearby. Bane picked it up to realize it was well used, and it felt, very, very, wrong. There was a neon green goo that was covering the whip, giving it a sticky feeling, as well as an odd smell that stood out from the rest of the room. He quickly dropped it in disgust, not wanting to imagine what twisted fantasy it participated in.

"Hmmm, if anything, they seemed to have had a good time here, quite distasteful in my opinion though."

"It will do, as long as it doesn't have that witch inside," Embo said as he was looking elsewhere in the room.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that. Now don't get me wrong, I don't like Aurra Sing that much personally, but you seem to hate her. She has some unpaid debts to you or something?" Bane asked. He had noticed that Embo has not once said anything that wasn't at least neutral about Aurra since they met up at Jay's Junction several hours ago.

"I don't trust her, she has a long history of "undercutting" her partners."

"Not surprising, don't we all aspire to take more than our fair share? Look, just keep it to yourself until after we get our pay for killing the Jedi. Then you can blast her into dust for all I care afterward."

Embo gave a small nod to Bane, he was glad he was at least in some agreement with distrusting Aurra Sing.

"Well, you can sit here in this dump all day if you like, but like I said I, need to get someone desperate enough to lure in a Jedi."

Embo gave him a wave-off, and Bad quickly exited the apartment and walked back out into the open.

 _Now then, where would anyone look for a good slut?_ He thought.

Bane tipped his hat down in front of him and started walking down one of the side walkways. At this time of perpetual night was about the time most people chose to sleep or stay inside, which meant that for Bane, finding anyone of interest would be easier than normal. He continued walking in one direction for a few minutes before spotting a side alleyway next to the path he was walking down. It alley was tightly wedged in between two apartment complexes, which was the perfect place to find someone. Bane stopped walking in his direction, opting to walk towards the alleyway. This time, he decided to lean on one of the complexes, his body perpendicular to the alley's entrance.

Bane then waited for about another twenty seconds before hearing faint footsteps approach from the alley. He then saw a single thin figure approach him in full view from his side.

"Hey there, dirty boy," The figure said in an expectedly seductive accent. "Are you looking for a "good time" with someone special?" Bane looked at her and gave a quick examination. It wasn't easy to tell in the darkness, but from the silhouettes of two Lekku coming out of her head, she was definitely a Twi'lek, which in of itself wasn't surprising in the slightest, as females of that species were sought after by virtually all respectable men. She took one more step towards Bane and bathed herself in an overhead streetlight, and she was revealed to have exotic Red skin which would certainly make other prostitutes very jealous. Bane wasn't an expert on Twi'lek biology, but he knew that Red skin was rare, and from that, he thoughtfully deduced that she must charge a high price for her "services". She also appeared to have very engaging Green eyes, the kind that said "I promise I will take good care of you", which from a certain point of view was correct.

"Not exactly," Bane replied with the slightest delay, he was admittedly somewhat tempted to take the offer, as it was a rather good deal in comparison to most other offers. However, he knew that he still had to prioritize the most important things to do at the moment, and he could always schedule for some other time with this particular woman after he was paid. "But, what I have in mind can still net you a good sum of money if you are willing to do what I want."

She gave a disappointed face to Bane. "Baby, I don't think you know how things work down here", she began, "You see, a beautiful woman like myself is only submissive in a certain number of ways if you know what I mean."

"That might be true, but you still value money on its own, don't you? If you have any brains in you then you will listen to my offer. By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Aashi, honey, Aashi Naki. Now, what do you want?" She dropped the seductive accent once she realized it was not necessary, and reverted to a standard Coruscanti dialect.

"Well Aashi, I have a problem that I think you can help me with", he began. "You see, within the next day or so, there's going to be a special individual that will be coming here, a Jedi by the name of Quinlan Vos."

"J-Jedi?" She gasped, "Sorry, but I don't deal in Jedi. The last time that I ran into one of them, he had the nerve to attract the police droids over and tried to arrest me!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm killing this particular one. Anyway, I have a simple task for you to accomplish. Lure him over to the Cantina, and get him thoroughly wasted. I don't care what it takes, but if you can do that for me, I'll make sure you get paid much more than one of your offered 'good times'."

"And how will I know I have the right man under my finger?" Aashi asked inquisitively, she was still half-convinced, but it certainly wouldn't hurt at least to ask a question or two.

"This specific Jedi is looking for someone and something, if you have any skill in catching desperate men then I'm sure you won't have a problem with finding him. So, what do you say?"

Aashi didn't answer immediately, which gave slight hope to Bane who thought this whore would be just crazy enough to accept his proposal. She clicked her tongue and replied a few seconds later.

"Sorry honey, I won't do it. No offense, but you Bounty Hunters are not much better as friends than any Jedi. And who knows what they might do to me if they find out what I did to help you. I should leave." She finished as she tried to slowly walk away from Bane. Unfortunately, he grabbed her by the wrist and fiercely pulled her back.

"Sorry honey," he said in a half-mocking tone, "but I think you know far too much to just walk away from me. Now I'll ask you again, will you do it?"

Aashi had a terrified look on her face, this Duros in front of her looked to be very well skilled in keeping people quiet. But then her natural Twi'lek sense of determination suddenly sparked inside of her mind, and then she decided to take a risk. Completing surprising Bane, she bent forward and fiercely bit Bane's hand that had gripped her by her wrist. He screamed in pain for a moment before looking up to see that slut having managed to free herself, and then turning and running away back into the alley.

He quickly turned and sprinted into the alley himself and realized that she was on track outrun him with her current pace. He then sighed at this revelation as he aimed his left arm gadget and fired a grappling rope around Aashi's legs, immobilizing her and causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground. With another simple button press, he subdued her with a quick round of shock therapy through the metal cord, with his arm gadget emitted enough electricity into her system to make her give out a loud screech before knocking her out.

Cad Bane caught his breath while thinking about what he had just done.

 _Well, I guess it was really a long shot._

He looked down at his victim's body, which Bane noted to be typically exposed like other women in her field of work. She wasn't dead, but there was no way that she would be useful to him now. Unless...

"I can't believe it's come to this." Bane lambasted himself. "Well, it looks like I need to find a Messanger Booth."


	5. A Temporary Farewell

Author's Note: So, I decided to give my first chapter a major rework. I added about 1000 words with additional dialogue and details, so check it out if you have the time. Be sure to review, follow, and recommend this story to your friends. Also, SpeedMasterDash was kind enough to give me a shout out in his latest chapter, so check out his great Star Wars Fanfiction as well!

 _ **Chapter 5: A Temporary Farewell**_

Sleeping before missions has always been a problem for Quinlan Vos; it was a strange phenomenon that he grudgingly learned to accept. Perhaps it was due to a level of anxiety that was the result of the coming assignment that must be carried out, or perhaps the Kiffar was too preoccupied with the dangers of said assignment, which were usually very many, this case was no exception.

Usually, he could tough out exhaustion through willpower alone, but there were a few exceptions where his body simply ceased to comply with orders. One of the most notorious examples was two and a half years ago where Quinlan had participated in a spar with Master Windu in one of the Temple's dueling rooms. He had been in this particular spar for ten minutes, that is to say, ten minutes straight of pure dueling with the Ataru form, which is known to tire users over long periods of time. Undeterred by his already apparent lack of sleep, and the taxing stress of sparring in an intense and fast-paced duel with a fearsome opponent, he eventually reached a breaking point where he broke off another lightsaber lock with Windu, then suddenly collapsed to the floor as quickly as if he were stunned by a blaster. He woke up in his quarters several hours later with Master Kenobi by his side, who rightfully informed him that he reminded him of Qui-Gon Jinn, who had perished in a disturbingly similar fashion on Naboo.

 _And to think, I told Aayla to relax, at least she gets better sleep in the Outer Rim then I do in the Temple!_

He was currently laying on the bed in his with the lights off in his Temple Quarters, which ironically for himself being considered one of the brashest and even uncouth Jedi in the order, was actually rather clean and organized. It also wasn't very large like those of his fellow Jedi Masters; it had just enough space not to feel claustrophobic, but not too much to seem barren and empty as well. Apart from the bed, a dresser drawer and table were on one side, a door on another side that leads to a small refresher room, a few traditional Kiffar ornaments laying on small shelves, and a mat for meditation that was laying in front of a single large window that allowed the lights of Coruscant radiate into the room. Quinlan's seemingly minimalistic living space actually served a purpose, it somewhat helped him concentrate on things, and speaking of concentration, his current errand for the Council was preoccupying his mind.

 _How did Bounty Hunters actually manage to seize the Ion Disruptor? If it was in hyperspace, then they wouldn't have had the opportunity to attack the cargo ship, but if it was attacked right after leaving Kamino's orbit, then why didn't Master Ti send help? Very interesting._

Quinlan had a tendency to ask questions about his assignments. Usually, this resulted in him being disappointed when his curiosity did not materialize into anything useful or interesting. Unfortunately, his concentration was broken when he had heard a beeping sound from the door. Someone wanted to see him. Quinlan was initially surprised at this action, he didn't usually get many visitors since he was gone so often on missions.

"You may enter." He replied. He sat up on his bed and extended his right hand to the switch and using the Force to immediately activate the lights.

Somewhat unexpectedly, a familiar feminine face strode in.

"Aayla, good to see that you are well. Did you need something?"

Aayla took a few steps to position herself standing with just a meter or so between her and Quinlan. She stared right into his brown eyes, which taken from the years of their Master-Apprentice relationship immediately signified to Quinlan that she was serious about something. Back then, it signified that she simply wanted to have permission to speak; not that Quinlan had actually cared about such stringent conduct as other Jedi teachers, but it still mattered to the Young Twi'lek Apprentice.

"I need to talk to you," Aayla said with a hint of depression. Quinlan figured from her low voice that his speech has begun to wear off of Aayla, as he had predicted earlier.

Quinlan ignored her pathetic introduction; reminding her of her troubles was currently the last thing on his agenda. He replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster into his next words.

"Well, I guess laying here in the dark is not very productive, is it?" Quinlan jokingly asked, "And I enjoy your company anytime. So what did you want to talk about? The War? The Sith? The Jedi? The Force? Commander Bly?" Quinlan smiled again as he asked the last question, he was testing his usual wits for the sake of hopefully raising Aayla's spirit.

"No offense Quinlan, but you are honestly the last person I would want to talk to about Commander Bly specifically." Quinlan withdrew his smile upon realizing that his plan had backfired, but continued to listen to what Aayla was saying. " I just want to apologize to you for what happened today. You know, with my..." Aayla struggled to finish her sentence, a sign that she was still haunted by what she had said to Quinlan.

"You mean that outburst of yours some hours ago?" Quinlan asked, "Please, you don't need to apologize for that." He turned his head to the side flicked his hand to the other to emphasize his point of no hard feelings. Unfortunately, he would not be able to let her off the hook so easily.

"Yes, I do," She insisted, "It was very unprofessional of me to insult a fellow Jedi Master like that, especially my own Master. I called you nothing short of an amateur, a fool when that couldn't be further from the truth, and it was honestly quite rude and unfair as well to compare our two very different lives."

Well, you are right about that last", Quinlan admitted, "But we are still both Jedi, and through that, we have something in common, Aayla. You may lead brave and loyal Clones as a General of the Republic, and I might just be one who likes to linger in the shadows of Coruscant, but even so, we share a bond through the Force, we always have."

"If so, then don't deny that through our aforementioned bond that it had pained you greatly to witness the one person who you have known since she was a small girl on Ryloth, the one person who burdened yourself with teaching all of these years, and the one person you have known better than anyone else in the Jedi Order, turn on you and give you an injury more painful than any blaster or Lightsaber wound. That is what I am apologizing for, Quinlan."

Quinlan gave a sigh, it was admittedly true. Even if he had played off any detrimental effects of her rage-induced language, through the powerful Force-Bond that they shared, he did actually have a sinking feeling in his heart after Aayla said to him "you should be ashamed of yourself!", even if that feeling was for but a brief moment.

"Yes, I was very surprised to hear those words coming from you of all people. I didn't want to believe it, but it seems you are deeply troubled, more than you think. I have seen people just like you, who had pure hearts and good intentions, become corrupted by violence and conflict and turning their backs on others. From a Jedi's perspective, this is the Dark Side at work in its purest form, feeding off the anxiety and fears of people and manifesting itself within them. Its presence is undeniable, even within you."

"I don't believe that. I wouldn't fall to the Dark Side, not again." Aayla shuddered as she had to indirectly mention that one devious individual, that monster who years ago tried to seduce her and feed off of her anger at after an accidental course of events involving Quinlan Vos killing Aayla's uncle.

"I know," Quinlan replied, "but the Darkness is devious, resourceful, it can find other ways to infiltrate the minds of people, and that is what I'm afraid of. Perhaps it's attempting a very methodical approach, using the horrific death and destruction of this war that you are so conveniently participating in to draw you closer, enticing you with false promises, like saving the ones you care about, like Commander Bly for example.

Aayla gave Quinlan a simple shrug. In all honesty, she did care for Commander Bly, in fact, he was one of her closest friends, closer than even some of her Jedi peers. However, with what her Master was hypothesizing, she realized that she really didn't have an actual coping mechanism if she couldn't save him from dying. Still, the sheer amount of desperation that it would take to make her resort to turning her back to the Light.

"That's a very bold statement, and I don't think it's very plausible." She replied

"Perhaps not plausible, but still very possible. Do you remember what I told you all those years ago: 'To always be aware of everything around you, no matter how seemingly unimportant or meaningless it is'? This is what I really meant when I told you that. Nothing is really impossible, especially with the Force involved.

Aayla did, in fact, remember Quinlan telling him that bit of wisdom under his tutelage. Although, at the time, it was right after she had tripped and fallen over some large stones while training with her Master on Naboo, so she simply put the statement off as nothing more than common sense. Of course you're supposed to be aware of your surroundings! What kind of Jedi doesn't do that? She put one hand to her chin as she suddenly thought of any other secret pearls of wisdom that she had glided over until now.

Quinlan realized that this conversation was getting nowhere, and gave a small sigh before speaking again, expressing his failure to prove his point effectively. "Listen, if it will make you feel any better, then I accept your apology wholeheartedly. The truth is, I care about you much to be resentful or angry at you, Aayla. No matter what you do or say to me, no matter if you injure or verbally abuse me in your times of angst and spite, I will always consider you a great Jedi at heart, and one of my dearest friends." He then put out his right hand to her, "Now then, how about we just put today aside as another, let's say 'failed experiment' in our relationship?"

Aayla put aside his hand and gave Quinlan a face of sorrow disappointment. He was confused at first, surely he thought that being more direct would've at least done something to receive a response. He Thankfully, instead of leaving him alone, she stepped forward and hugged him around the neck, her long-lasting affection for him finally revealing itself, while also nearly toppling Quinlan over onto the bed he was sitting upon.

"Thank you, for everything." She whispered into his ear.

"Yes well, I suppose you've finally begun to grow on me, ha!" He joked, while gently pushing Aayla off of himself.

Aayla gave him a knock on the shoulder, "Did you mean that literally or metaphorically?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, I guess not."

 _ **Meanwhile, on Level 1356.**_

It didn't take long for Cad Bane to find a nearby holo-messenger booth, they were littered around the underworld almost as often as there were diseased ridden rodents or scurrying around them on the streets. He found one out of the main line of view for most people in his vicinity and was more importantly within sight of an unlucky Twi'lek who had been considerably uncooperative.

Passing by a few unnotable crowds of people, perhaps doing more notable activities, he walked up to the dinky device that stood up only to his chest and activated it. It displayed a messaged stating that credits had to be dispensed before a call could be made, but the bounty hunter had little patience with a machine that tried to dictate rules to him and struck the machine on the side of the main control panel, which he knew to be a foolproof technique to bypass the device's security interface.

The Holo-messenger made a curious buzzing noise and unwillingly complied with Bane, who then inputted a series of numbers into the machine that would hopefully contact a special contact. After 20 seconds, he got a response.

"Bane? Didn't I already say that I paid off my debts to you with that last job? I'm not giving you any more money!"

"Well for one, you were caught and beat up by some child, which was entirely your fault", Bane corrected, "and two, I'm calling you about something else. I have a favor, no, a proposition for you."

The voice sighed, "I'm listening."

"I'm currently working an assassination job for some mysterious individual with a real issue with letting go of grudges. Anyway, I've just thought of a way that you can help me with that, and maybe you'll get a part of the cut as well if you don't mess up again."

"If you're suggesting that I do what I did last time, then I sure get a lot of money for my worth for this job of yours."

"Does one million credits strike you fancy? If it does, then meet me on Coruscant, Level 1356, Sector B4, and I'll fill you in on the rest of the details. Get here quickly, too, time isn't exactly on my side."

"Very well, I hope you know what you are doing this time, Bane."

"Whoever said I didn't last time? You were the one that got caught, not me." He retorted. He didn't get a response, as the holo-messenger deactivated itself, signifying that the other user cut off the line themselves.

"Well, at least she didn't ask about the body." Bane quietly remarked, walking away from the holo-messenger.

Unbeknownst to him, mere seconds after he had put his back to the messenger and started walked back into the alley, a thin silhouette suddenly dropped down in complete silence from the building towering over where Bane was just standing. Disguised from identity from head to in shadows and cloak, there was only a single decipherable feature of the figure, a dim sliver of light produced by the reflection of a small blaster, suddenly pointed directly at the clueless Bounty Hunter. There was no sound, however, that was to be produced from this blaster, nor was there to be any victims of it. The silence was deafening as the weapon began to faintly tremble in unseen hands, still pointed at the Duros, but unwilling to serve its purpose.

 _Not yet._

Self-defeated, the silhouette slowly lowered the blaster and put it back into its cloak, then it retreated back into the shadows from whence it originated.

* * *

Both Master and Apprentice were sitting upright on the Kiffar's bed, with nothing better to do than to talk to enjoy each other's small talk.

"So then I said to Bly, 'Make sure that you replace the batteries for your night vision goggles, we don't know how long this infiltration will take.' He replied, 'Oh, don't worry about that, General. We'll be in and out before the clankers' even notice we were here.' Unfortunately for him, we weren't in and out before the droids knew it, and two hours in, he went and asked me, 'So, uh, General, how's that Jedi Radar of your's doing?'".

Quinlan gave a soft chuckle, "If that's how your commander behaves on a daily basis, then you should really pray to the Force for his safety. I mean, he'd probably forget to recharge his blaster without you to remind him."

"Trust me, he's not that short-sighted, at least not most of the time." Aayla joyously replied. "Anyway, how is your life? What has the council decided to burden you with this time, Quinlan?" Aayla asked with enthusiasm.

"Oh, nothing much, more of the same things that I know you are so very interested in." He teased, "This time, there is apparently a special device, I think Master Ti said it was an Ion Disruptor or something like that, got stolen and was smuggled into Coruscant's underworld..."

"And let me guess," Aayla interrupted, "you need to retrieve it before its sold onto the black market, where the buyer is none other than General Grievous or one of his lackeys? So essentially, you're the delivery boy, again."

"Yeah, and they're worried that the dangers are greater than usual this time around for some reason. Kit Fisto didn't dare smile at me, and Kenobi nearly begged me to not die this time."

"I suppose The Galaxy is a dangerous place these days, especially with a war going on," Aayla replied warmly before to follow up with something else. "Say, maybe if the council is so worried that you'll get killed, then maybe you should alleviate their fears and let me join you on this mission."

"Really? What about training those Younglings? You want to leave it to somebody else to do it, like Skywalker perhaps?"

"Oh heavens no, not Skywalker!" She exclaimed, "He belongs out in the field with his little Padawan. I can't imagine how much of a disaster it would be if they called him in for training. But even then, I'm sure they would request someone far more suited for the task, which still leaves me available to assist you."

"Sorry, Aayla, but I really prefer to take assignments like these alone. No offense, but even someone like you can end up slowing me down too much. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, come on Quinlan, that's what you always say!" She retorted, "Besides, I think I know just enough about you to manage to keep up with your crazy plans."

"Well, you would probably distract yourself anyway with all of the oddities of the Underworld, not that I would blame you, the lower levels, in general, are unlike what most Jedi could even imagine."

Aayla gave Quinlan another knock on the shoulder. "Are you forgetting who you're speaking to? I have an idea or two of what goes on down there myself. After all, I distinctly remember you sending me on an errand or two when I was your student because you couldn't be bothered to do yourself."

"Well, I was looking for an opportunity to test your courage and responsibility, and the task wasn't even that difficult, was it? I had much more important business to deal with anyway, and I just figured I could kill two birds with one stone, that's not so wrong, is it?"

"No, but I think now I can handle a bit more than a simple errand this time around, don't you think?"

"Very well, I won't deny your skill, but the actual reason that I'm doing this alone is that I'm also supposed to be meeting with somebody down there. A special somebody that Master Kenobi referred to as "Sapphire", and I don't think having a third wheel is a good idea for such an appointment if you know what I mean." Quinlan subtlely suggested.

"Oh, so you think I will become jealous of this special someone?" Aayla asked, "Well, if she has Lekku that's longer than mine, that might be a serious problem." She grabbed onto her left Lekku and exposed it to Quinlan as she was joking, identifying her point of reference.

"Don't worry about that," Quinlan said sarcastically. I don't think Kenobi mentioned that she was actually a Twi'lek like you, but I don't know what to expect from her. Apart from her name, Obi-Wan only said that 'she knows how to make a first impression'. The Force only knows what sort of twisted meaning that phrase will take."

"I expect that it will be something that you'll exaggerate into a great story. I will wish to hear that story when you return." She said warmly.

"Well, to tell a story, you first need to write it." Quinlan stood up from his bed and smirked down at Aayla, who immediately stood up herself. "I think it's about time that I get to my responsibilities."

The two then walked a few steps until they had cleared the door and were now walking side by side outside in the Temple corridors.

"Come on, Quin," she begged, "this is your last chance to have some desirable company with you on this assignment of yours. Don't you want to try something new for once and just let me tag along on this errand of yours? I'm sure it will be more fun with two Jedi instead of one."

"Oh please, I'm all the company I really need in my life, Aayla. Besides," He put turned and put both his hands on Aayla shoulders." you are a strong and wise Jedi, and I'm sure you have very important duties to attend to yourself. I wouldn't want to impede your own responsibilities as a Jedi Master just for my own sake."

Aayla sighed, she realized she had no chance of convincing Quinlan to take her on his latest adventure, and she did, in fact, have some duties of her own to attend to, no matter how much she'd rather ignore them. She shrugged off Quinlan's hands and put her own hands on her hips, smirked, and looked into his eyes again.

"Alright. Just promise me that you won't take waste too much time on this assignment of yours. I'll probably get bored after a while and you're the only person I know that can make an evening in the Jedi Temple more interesting than just meditation or sleeping."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I come back with enough wonders to tell you that you won't sleep for a week!" He slowly turned away from Aayla and began walking away when he heard one last familiar phrase.

"Quinlan, may the Force be with you."

"Goodbye, old friend, may the Force be with you too."


	6. Descent into the Abyss

Author's Note: So, I've decided that it's time to move things along in the story. Everything has been set for the next act of the story. Anyway, I hope you've been excited to see some storytelling because I am too! Do remember to Review, Favorite, and tell your friends about my story if you have the time!

* * *

 **Episode 6A: "An Artificial World that Neither Loves nor Hates You."**

The journey into the Underworld was an uneventful affair, especially since Quinlan Vos was supposed to blend into the background anyway while doing it. After leaving behind the Jedi Temple and a disappointed Twi'lek, the Kiffar was eager to begin his assignment and meet this special agent Kenobi talked about.

While many Jedi would assume that they were all-knowing about everything around, some more experienced Jedi, like Quinlan Vos, knew that was an extremely ironic statement; many of these "Temple Jedi", as he took to calling them, didn't know much about what was really happening in the Galaxy, much less even on their own planet of Coruscant.

Right now, Quinlan was sitting peacefully with his cloak on one of the many mag-lev trains that traversed the entire planet of Coruscant within a hopelessly complicated railway system that ran from the surface all the way down to the lower levels and back up again. This process of gradually descending further into the city took several hours, which was perhaps one of the reasons that Quinlan had so unexpectedly left in a hurry. This wasn't the only way to delve into the Underworld, there were a few other ways, like flying down one of the shipping wells that are used to transport goods and material between the surface and the lower levels, but from Quinlan's experience, traveling via the wells could draw in a lot of unwanted attention and was a surefire way to get jumped. There were also a series of walkways that also took people down by foot, but those didn't go nearly far enough and took too long to navigate anyway.

This particular train that Quinlan happened to be sitting in was especially crowded because it was the prime transit period in the early morning for people who work night shifts to return home, it was also the perfect opportunity to blend in with a crowd, but also garnered an increased volume of potential thieves or cutthroats looking for some easy spoils off some sleeping passengers.

Quinlan also happened to be sleeping, not out of desire, but because had not much better to do. He had witnessed the slow descent from the magnificent skyscrapers into the wretched underbelly of Coruscant many times before and it wasn't much to look at anymore, and trying to converse with people wasn't a good idea either; the Jedi weren't the most liked among people in the Underworld. For the sake of his safety as much as his disinterest, he chose to sit in one of the corners away from the dim lighting and use his cloak to hide his face and body and remain at least somewhat inconspicuous.

 _Damn, maybe Aayla was right about the boredom._

However, a certain Quarren thug had a few other ideas. This bad boy has had a few run in's with Jedi beforehand, or so he thought. In any case, he was confident that he could successfully mug this unsuspecting individual, Force powers or not. He had quickly identified the Jedi by deducing that he was trying a bit too hard to conceal his identity, and within his cloak there was a lightsaber that would be very potent to profit from, if only he could get it into his hands.

He slowly made his way over towards the idle Jedi in the corner, stopping several times to stand near a few other people to appear innocent to onlookers, eventually sitting opposite to Quinlan's seat. The Kiffar at this point appeared to have begun sleeping, as his eyes were closed in a soft fashion that could only have meant that he wasn't faking his rest. Feeling more confident by the moment, he then walked over to Quinlan's side of the car, sitting right next to him on his right side. After taking a second look around to make sure nobody else was paying attention and, with all of his might, he slowly reached over his hand to grasp at the cloak.

Suddenly, a firm grip seized the overextended arm by the wrist and held it there with an iron will. Unfortunately for the Quarren, he realized that this hand was coming from the man he was trying to rob, as well as a tired sounding voice.

"You weren't a very good pickpocket back on Mon Cala, were you?"

The Quarren had silently gasped, surprised that this Jedi's sense of awareness was not compromised in the slightest while he was sleeping.

"I, uhh."

"You know, I've had a few encounters with some 'fresh fish' before while in the Underworld. Your technique, however, seems to be straight up raw!" He gave a chuckle as he made his socially insensitive pun.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jedi! I was, uh, just trying to wake you up, that's all. Really, I-I mean it."

"Oh, spare me. I think you would learn far better manners in a jail cell than on a train, speaking of which..."

The Quarren was running time, fast. He had really messed up this time for sure! He then looked towards his hand that was still held in place with a near suffocating grip on his wrist. He made a few feeble struggles to free himself, but the Kiffar didn't seem to want to let him off the hook for this one. He was sweating profusely and shuddering in his boots at whether or not he should risk what he was thinking of.

 _Damn it, I guess I can at least try._ He thought.

 _Oh, yes, I'd really like to see where this is going._ Quinlan taunted mentally through the Force.

Undaunted by Quinlan's challenge, the Quarren began to fake a pose of being assaulted and made fake screams of surprise. "Hey, let go of me, Jedi!" He turned to fellow passengers as he continued his desperate attempt at getting off the hook. "Hey, hey, help me get this freak off of me!" He had hoped that the anti-Jedi sentiment among many people in the Underworld would beckon to his call to help, but none dared even look over to him.

He then felt another firm grip, this time on the back of his head, and he suddenly found himself looking into the deep brown eyes of the Jedi, who didn't express nearly as much anxiety. In fact, by the joyous look on his face, he was actually enjoying this ordeal very much.

"Boy, do you know how quickly a person can disappear down here in the Underworld?"

"No?" He said fearfully.

"Well, if you keep this act up my friend, then you might just be lucky enough to find out." Quinlan then waved his hand in a slow motion in front of the Quarren. "Then again, you are just going to go back to Mon Cala and apologize to your parents for running off, right?"

"I am just going to go back to Mon Cala and apologize to my parents for running off, right." He said in a mesmerized voice.

"That's the spirit, champ!" He released the firm grip on the Quarren in front of him, seeing that he had successfully set him back on the right path. He gave him a good pat on the back and sent him off with a final request, "Oh, and tell them that Jedi Master Vos said hi!"

He smiled as he felt the good that he unearthed out of that young man. It certainly wasn't the first time he's had dealings with troubled boys before, but this was one of the few times he was able to get them to slow down long enough to listen to him, and it worked like a charm.

 _Well, I guess I'm off to a good start. I might just make good on my promise to Aayla._

Coincidentally, just as he was looking away from the Quarren, the train had come to a halt. He had finally arrived at his destination.

"Finally", he murmured to himself.

He walked with the mass of people who were tiring to get out of and get onto the train all out once. With a few shoves and light pushes, he managed to walk out onto the train station, which was drenched in a sea of people who were constantly moving in and out of the area. Quinlan paused to readjust his brown cloak, making sure that he wouldn't be showing too much of his body while walking around the Underworld. He then immediately headed for the ticketing booths, each with a feminine droid that was checking the tickets. He walked up to one that wasn't looking very busy and briefly examined the robot before it looked up to him.

"Your pass, please." It said in a monotone voice.

The Kiffar rolled his eyes and handed the droid a small metallic ticket through a small window in the booth. The robot then scanned the ticket with its eye sensors before looking at Quinlan again.

"Thank you, citizen, you may proceed. Enjoy your stay on Level 1356 and remember to stay safe!" The droid said in a programmed sense of enjoyment.

Quinlan didn't bother replying to the machine and was already walking through one of the rusty looking turnstiles that lead to who knows what. Upon passing through into Level 1356, the first thing that he did was take a deep breath. He inhaled a mix of artificial oxygen and machinery gases that was typical of Underworld life, and he exhaled enthusiasm.

"Well, things haven't changed much after all." He quietly noted.

He then looked around. He had just walked into what seemed like the main street through this part of Level 1356 that leads from the train station and into the surrounding residential areas. Looking up, he saw a very small gap in the night sky that served as the only allowance of natural light this deep into Coruscant; the rest of the light was supplemented by artificial streetlights strategically placed around every street corner, but even this system only illuminated the area at an ability that could hardly be considered adequate. Quinlan could see, however, a passing trio of police droids, clad in the standard blue paint and armed with small blasters.

The lead droid, likely the superior officer of the three, stopped in place and turned toward his following comrades.

"New directive. PD-347, PD-721, head towards the cantina and begin a scan of the area. I will remain here to link up with squad 2E nearby."

"Affirmative PD-953." The two other droids said in monotone unison before departing toward their destination.

 _Cantina, huh? I guess that's a good place to start looking._ Quinlan thought.

He took another look around to see any other potential places of interest. He had to act fast, however; as his late Master Tholme had once said to his young Padawan, "Always be on the move when you are down in the Underworld, Quinlan. If you stay still for too long, then anyone with an ambition to kill or steal will quickly find a new victim to prey on, and you won't get the opportunity to realize your grave mistake." Quinlan decided to act.

 _It probably wouldn't hurt to look around first._ He thoughtfully deduced.

With that settled, he quickly found what he was looking for; a small noodle shop across the street on a corner; like many places in the Underworld, it was structured as having seats and a single wide table on the outside of the building while the kitchen and owner served meals through an open window. It wasn't for the fact that Quinlan would want something to eat that it caught his attention, but that he knew that the working class people in the Underworld that are the most trusting and least likely to kill you, most of the time that is. He casually crossed the street and walked over to the establishment and saw a few people being served bowls of fine soup by a red elderly man. Upon sitting at one of the empty seats, Quinlan felt safe enough to remove his cloak from his body and revealed his face to the elderly man, who turned out to be a Torgruta from the sight of his Lekku and Montrals.

 _Master Ti's uncle? No, that would be far too coincidental._ He thought while examining the man approaching him.

"So," the old man began, "you want a taste of some of my famous soup?

"Fame is subjective, but the taste is what I'm mostly interested in. A single bowl please." Quinlan then took out a handful of credits and flushed them onto the table. "I hope this is enough."

The old man collected the credits and backed away for a moment into his kitchen, and ten seconds later he returned with a fresh bowl of bright orange soup with some sort of meat that Quinlan was unfamiliar with. Eager to see what 25 credits had gotten him, he took a spoon from the side and collected a fair sum of broth from the bowl and gave it a taste. Almost immediately, his senses had told him that not only was it good, it was really good, quite possibly the best he's had in a long time.

"Honestly, you really ought to charge more for this stuff. It's definitely better than some of the soups I've tasted on the surface." Quinlan said in earnest to the old man.

"Well that's no surprise to me," the old man replied, "it's a traditional Shili dish that my family has prepared and perfected for generations upon generations beforehand. I'm very proud to keep the tradition going."

"Yes, you should be very proud of your family, and your soup. By the way, what's your name, friend?"

"I don't usually say such personal things to customers, but since you've shown me such good hospitality compared to what I'm used to, you may call me Boshti Ri." He replied with an old crooked smile.

"Well then, Boshti, I'm Quinlan Vos, and between you and me, I'm also a Jedi. Now, I have a question or two I would like to ask you if you're willing."

"Very well, Jedi Master Vos, I suppose I have nothing better to do anyway."

"To put it simply, I'm looking for something, as well as someone. You seem to be the sort of unsuspecting individual who may or may not catch on about things like that, right?"

"Believe me, I may not move around much these days, but my hearing is as good as ever. What are you looking for?"

Quinlan took a brief glance around him to make sure that nobody was around that was too close for comfort before continuing. He leaned in and was now whispering to Boshti, "The Jedi Council believes that there is a secret Republic weapon that is floating around here on in the Underworld, an Ion Disruptor specifically."

"Oh, I see. I haven't heard anything specifically about an Ion Disruptor, but I have overheard some rumors from the local thugs about a "big deal" that's going to happen any day now. I'm guessing that is your item of interest, Jedi. The gangs around here are not very organized, but most of them usually hang out near the abandoned warehouses in sector U3, it's not too far from here, actually, ask the Police droids if you're interested. And if you were looking for somebody, well the Cantina is likely your best bet, most of the colorful personalities hang around there from what I would assume."

"Thank you, this is just the lead that I needed to get started. I appreciate the patronage, friend."

"It's just good to see that not everyone in that blasted temple of yours on the surface hasn't forgotten about us down here. Please, come by again if you have the time."

"I'll keep that in mind," Quinlan got up and began to calmly walk away, but decided he could at least bury his curiosity with another question. "By the way, do you know a woman by the name of Shaak Ti?"

"I can't say, I'm guessing by her name that she's a Torgruta friend of your's?"

"Yeah, I'll make sure to bring her with me the next time I come down here," He said in a joking manner. "Alright, take care."

* * *

 **Episode 6A: "If This Doesn't Pay Off, I'll Make It."**

"Aurra, do you have a visual on the Jedi?" Bane impatiently asked her over the communicator for the fourth time. "You know, with that scope of yours, I'd imagined that you would've found him by now."

Aurra Sing gritted her teeth in annoyance at Bane's questioning. At this point, she was beginning to contemplate if shooting Bane as well as the Jedi would be a better course of action than listening to that kriffing Duros continue to lambast her for supposed incompetence. Keeping such thoughts to herself, she responded with her own lambasting.

"If you think you can do so much better of a job, then how about you just come up here yourself and look for the Jedi?"

"Just shut it and keep looking, will ya? If our employer was correct in his description, then he should be arriving here right about now." Aurra gave a small grunt as her eyes were once again lined up with the scope of her sniper rifle. She was currently laying down on the roof of one of the larger apartment complex buildings, able to see everything below her in a 360-degree view while being high enough to not be seen from anybody on street-level.

Just as Aurra overhead Bane's chatter, through her scope, she found a very suspicious individual calmly walking along the streets. There was just something about the way they walked that caught her attention; the individual was moving at a steady and regulated pace, unlike the slow and studdered pace that most people walked with. Upon increasing the zoom on her scope and taking a closer look, the person looked to be a male with its broad shoulders, but he was concealed in a large brown cloak that hid most of the person's details. He was also walking behind two other people that somewhat concealed his presence. From her personal experience, all of these factors could mean one of two things, it was somebody who was hiding some contraband under that cloak, or...

"Bane," she suddenly snapped and activated her wrist com, "I think I found him. He's walking down one of the streets leading towards the Cantina, following behind a couple of other people."

"Good," Bane replied, "At least we know our employer was reliable in his information."

"Yeah, and I about to find out if he's really going to pay us six million credits." She said in a sly voice as she slowly readied her rifle and aimed it directly at the cloaked figure.

"No, don't shoot him!" Bane demanded, "That's not going to work against a Jedi, you idiot. Besides, we still have our plan in place. Just keep him in your sights."

"Fine, I really hope you weren't high on Death Sticks when you came up with that plan of yours."

"Don't worry, this is going to work; I made a special request from someone I know to help us with killing this Jedi."

"Wait, you don't mean...?" She asked with curiosity.

"Yes, I do, and it will work. Trust me."

"Well, this better not take too much away from my own cut."

"It won't, just as long you don't do anything stupid. That reminds me, Embo", he began, "our Jedi is nearing the cantina. He'll probably be heading inside for a drink soon, so make sure you keep an eye on him while he's there, but don't confront him until I give the word.

"Understood."

"Remember, everything hinges on us working together, so don't get any dumb ideas, got that?" He directed his question at both his partners.

"Yes," Embo replied.

"Yeah, sure." Aurra grudgingly answered.

* * *

 **Episode 9A, Part 2: "You'll Never Know What You're in for Until You're in Too Deep."**

Quinlan kept walking as calmly as he could with a few other people ahead of him. In truth, there was a certain sense of uncertainty that was beginning to materialize in his mind. After all, he still had absolutely no clue what was really in store for him on this assignment, and it was not sitting well with him.

 _If this agent is somehow tied to the Jedi Council, then why didn't Kenobi bother telling me anything else about this "Sapphire"?_

In truth, he hated what the Council had done to him this time. If he had realized sooner that he was absolutely in the dark information-wise, he may have hesitated when Master Windu offered the assignment to him. He realized that once again, his sense of confidence and superiority had suppressed his worries and subtly clouded his judgment in the heat of the moment.

 _Perhaps I shouldn't mention this part of the story to Aayla_. He reassured himself.

He could already from the smell of booze escaping the Cantina, as well as the catchy rhythmic beat of the music, tell that he was going to be in for a fun trip. He walked up to the door and was about to enter before deciding to take a last look outside. He quickly scanned the area around him for anything,"off" about his setting. He noted the dim lighting, the towering buildings, the occasional alarm of police speeders cruising by above him, the small holo-adverts posted on walls, and he could feel the sense of distress and imbalance among most of the people walking around him.

 _Nothing out of the ordinary_. He happily thought as he slowly turned around and walked through the automatic door of the cantina.


	7. The Diamond in the Rough

Author's Note: Funny story: I didn't actually remember if Soup itself was actually canon in Star Wars, so I had to make a quick check on the Wook to make sure I wasn't breaking canon; I mean, this story is obviously not canon, but I at least wanted the food to be! Also, I found this particular chapter to be difficult to write since it had a surplus of action in it, so I hope you like it. Do remember to review, favorite, and share this story with your fellow readers!

 ** _Chapter 7: The Diamond in the Rough_**

* * *

 **Episode 7: "I Guess Drinking Doesn't Fix All Your Problems, After All."**

The booze wasn't the only thing that Quinlan noticed was a bit off about this place. The dark atmosphere, the pounding of techno-mix into his head, the aforementioned aroma of strong drink, the scantily clad females of numerous species, and something else indescribable told him that this was not a normal Cantina.

The layout may have been the typical roundabout sitting area with the drinking stand in the center, but something felt, off, about this establishment. The Force seemed to be telling him that there was something more to this place than meets the eye.

 _Well, they don't have many places like this on the surface._ He thought.

With nothing better to suspect from taking a look around, Quinlan then walked into the middle of the building, bumping into a few people who seemed to be too drunk to bother with asking politely to move out of the way. He eventually worked his way to the bartender, who was busy serving drinks to customers. Quinlan took a spare seat near the bartender. He took another look around the area, overhearing a few conversations about miscellaneous topics, such as "Did you ever find out who stole your speeder last week?", and "Hey, what do you think about that scumbag Chancellor on the surface?". Quinlan's train of thought, however, was broken when he realized that the bartender droid was scanning intently him with his visual receptors.

From the sight of his mask-like face, it seemed to have once been a medical droid that now ironically serves beverages that encourage less than healthy behaviors. Nonetheless, the droid had waited long enough for this customer to answer he asked him a generic question, "What do you want?"

"Surprise me." He requested as he threw down a small batch of credits from his hands.

The droid understood his request with a simple nod and turned around to reach for a bottle hanging from one of the upper cabinets. He brought out a shot glass as well and poured some strange neon green liquid into it before sliding it over to Quinlan, who immediately took a swig of it.

"Say, what is this stuff anyway?" Quinlan asked. He had obviously had his fill of alcoholic beverages before, but this drink had a taste unlike what he ever had before on the surface. It had a texture that was less defined by and typical drinks commonly served on the surface, but it still felt like it had a kick to it.

"The drink is Alderaanian White mixed with Starfire 'skee and Corellian Whiskey. I was programmed to have that be my 'specialty'."

"Interesting," Quinlan noted. He had to admit, for all the honest drinking he had participated in during his life, this exotic drink mix had caught him by surprise.

But there was no time for Quinlan to spend enjoying Underworld specialties. Just then, he felt a very soft hand land on his left shoulder. He quickly turned around to see a very lovely Red-skinned Twi'lek woman with Emerald green eyes. She was wearing casual dressing that complemented her warm smile. The sight was intoxicating by itself and the alcohol magnified its intensity.

 _Oh no, Aayla is going to kill me for lying to her._ To think that Quinlan had expected that his new acquaintance to specifically NOT be a Twi'lek now seemed to be a foolhardy gesture, and the Jedi suddenly felt regretful for it.

The woman broke the ice when she realized that the man in front of her could not bear to initiate the conversation, "Hey there, I'm guessing you're the Jedi I'm looking for?"

Quinlan's stare had broken in an instant. The last thing he wanted to do on a first encounter was to seem unhealthily engrossed in her body figure. "Yes, but are you someone that I'm looking for?"

"Down here, the only other reason to walk up to a stranger would be to steal from them, so yes, I am that person." she replied, "We should probably go somewhere a bit more, private. Follow me." The two quickly walked through the crowds of people occupying the ground floor and walked past some of the booths that were near a staircase, one of those booths including a pair of eyes that were partially hidden under a very large and round metallic hat, and which were very intently following the unsuspecting Jedi.

"Bane, he just walked past me." A voice accompanying the eyes whispered into a small communicator.

"Good. Remember, once you hear a confrontation, you know what to do."

The woman led Quinlan up the staircase and towards one of the doors that occupied one of the walls on the side. She entered a short string of numbers into the door's lock pad which caused it to open. When they entered the room, Quinlan was immediately embarrassed to see what he had just walked into. From the dim lighting, the velvet red carpet and decor, a few small tables with drinks strewn about, and a very suspiciously large bed in the middle of the room, he realized that this was one of those "comfort and affectional understanding" rooms.

"You know," he said to her, "you could have just asked me if you wanted-"

"You have a good sense of humor, Jedi, but this isn't the best time." She smiled at him as she closed the door behind her. She motioned for him to take a seat on the bed, and Quinlan obliged and uncomfortably sat down on the bed. The woman continued standing, eyeing him with serious concentration.

"So", he began as he attempted to break the ice, "how about we start with names? I'm Quinlan, and who are you?"

"You can call me whatever you want," she said nonchalantly, " but if you must know, my name is Aashi."

"Right. So I assume that you, Aashi, know why I'm here."

"Wow," she giggled, "you don't seem to be very good at talking to women, are you?"

"Believe me, that's not true, I'm just not accustomed to meeting people like you in strange places like this."

"Don't worry about that," she began as she slowly walked seductively near him. Quinlan did not read her warm facial expression, instead of continuing with the small talk.

"Well, there isn't much to time to waste, we both were chosen by the Jedi Council for this assignment. So, do you have any information to tell me, any intel about "mysterious objects" floating around down here?"

"Yes, I do know a great deal about that subject." She moved in even closer than before, now just a foot away from him. "You know, you are more handsome than I had originally anticipated, attractive almost." She paused a moment to take a good look at his confused face, giving a tiny laugh in the process. "I can tell that you are a bit anxious just from the look on your face, something I didn't expect from a Jedi. I don't mean to assume, but you don't have many female friends in that big temple of yours, do you?

"I... well, I don't know really. I never really thought about it that way before. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking about this with you, there is something much more important at stake than my personal feelings." Quinlan stoically replied. Aashi now hopped onto the bed herself and moved in behind the Jedi, she slowly placed her soft hands on his shoulders. Quinlan initially felt surprised at this motion and nearly protested, yet he felt surprisingly soothed as Aashi began to massage his shoulders.

"It's okay, I know that your kind isn't the most social out there." She said. "You seem to be pent-up full of stress, not very surprising. Oh! I know just what can get you into a talking mood." She said, finishing with a mysteriously low tone.

Suddenly, Quinlan jarred as he felt an intense pain in his neck, he sprang up from off the bed, only to realize that he had just been stabbed! Almost immediately, he began to feel dizzy and nauseated by the effect of the mysterious concoction. She gave a heartful laugh as he realized that this was not at all how Obi-Wan mentioned her making "quite a first impression".

"Hm, Cad Bane was right after all." She said in a joyous tone as she stood up. "This job was pretty easy."

Quinlan fell to his knees, and pulled out the needle, seeing all of its contents were already well entrenched in his system before looking back at the Twi'lek. "Wait a minute, you're not..."

Just as he came to the realization, she drew a blaster hidden in her clothing and fired a quick succession of bolts towards the confused Jedi. Undaunted by this ambush, Quinlan quickly drew his lightsaber and managed to deflect every single one of her attacks, including redirecting one toward her blaster, destroying it in the process. Quinlan then retaliated with a powerful Force push that sent her crashing over a glass table and into a nearby wall, which caused a spark of electricity to mysteriously flicker on her body in the process.

Pointing his lightsaber right at her neck. "Who are you, really?"

To his surprise, she gave out a hearty laugh, but in a vocal range that had entirely contradicted her natural voice pattern -it sounded more brash, more alien, unlike the smooth vocals of a Twi'lek. Then the absolutely unthinkable happened. In an instant, her entire body had undergone a strange holographic transformation. Her skin changed from Scarlet red to dark green, and her clothes changed from casual attire to a protective bodysuit with a few pieces of armor strapped to the chest and arms. Worst of all, her face, her beautiful Twi'lek face had metamorphosized into an abominable replacement, frail and boney aplenty as her lips deflated and her nose retracted, her eyes seemingly doubling in size as well.

 _A Clawdite shapeshifter?_ He thought as he began to piece together the puzzle in his mind.

"My name", she began," is Cato Parasitti, and your luck has just run out."

Just then, the door flung wide open, and in came a Kuyzo armed with a bowcaster and a menacing grin. He immediately aimed and shot at the surprised Kiffar, who just barely managed to react and deflect the attacks in time. The Kuyzo fired, again and again, all of his shots being deflected around the room, leaving gaping holes in the room.

Quinlan's expertise in Shien no doubt aided him in reliably deflect the incoming blaster bolts, but he could feel the powerful influence drug kicking into high gear now; he felt that he could fall unconscious at any moment. Not wanting to stay and risk fighting in such a poor condition, he reached out with his mind to find an exit while his eyes were concentrated on the firefight. The window! He looked over to see the single wide horizontal window that overlooked the plaza outside the cantina. In a swift motion of his off-hand, he shattered the window in a single telekinetic push, glass flying several meters away. Quinlan then deflected a blaster bolt back onto the Kuyzo's shoulder pad, causing him to recoil slightly. In that very next moment did Quinlan sheath his lightsaber and make a mad dash for the window and lept out of it, landing shoulder-first on the ground in a heap of broken glass and in the sight of curious onlookers.

He stumbled as he tried to get up of the ground, the drug doing its best to disorient the Jedi. His vision had now blurred somewhat, but even then, he could still make out the outline of a Duros walking casually near him, stopping just ten meters away and giving Quinlan a menacing glare.

"Well, that liquified synthetic spice seems to have done its magic on you," Cad Bane remarked, "I've been wanting to meet you for quite some time now." Quinlan had now realized that he was completely set up from the beginning- The shapeshifter, the Kuyzo, and now this Duros were all in the league with each other trying to kill him for whatever reason. In an instant, he felt like a fool for not acting sooner on his sense of uncertainty.

"Sorry, but you're not going to have much time to get to knowing me, bounty hunter," Quinlan said defiantly. At this point, he wondered why the Kuyzo had not recovered and tried to shoot him from a distance, but he did not put too much thought on it, instead of focusing more on the threat right in front of him.

"Well, that's something that we actually agree on, from a certain point of view." Bane said as he slowly guided his hand towards his holster.

But, before either man had made another move, two police droids that had overheard the blaster fire had rushed back to the cantina after recently moving on to the neighborhood area nearby. Now, they detected the two men who they identified as the source of the discord. They pointed blasters at both men, with one of the droids speaking up. "Surrender, violent offenders!"

Bane's face gave a pout as he was rudely interrupted by two idiotic machines. He slowly turned around to the droids and put his hands in the air to as if he was surrendering, only to close them shut. Suddenly, two shots fired in lightning quick succession, claiming two victims as the droids collapsed onto each other, both going limp from a very large hole in their faceplates.

But it was at this precise moment that Quinlan realized that he had a second chance to make a run for it. Calling upon his ever fading concentration, he made a single sudden dash to the nearest building, and Bane quickly drew his blaster as he saw this movement.

"Alright Jedi, let's see how long you'll make me wait." Avoiding the stream of blaster fire the came from both rooftop and ground level, Quinlan made a huge leap over the building onto the roof and out of Bane's line of sight. He looked over his back left side to see a slender figure with a sniper rifle preparing to shoot another volley of fire at him.

 _Aurra Sing too?_ _Whoever wants me dead is willing to put down all the cards at once._ He thought as he once again drew his lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts from Aurra Sing, who was hot on his trail running alongside him a few buildings parallel to his own.

Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, Quinlan had failed to pay attention to what was in front of him, and when he looked forward, he was shocked to see that same Kuyzo again from the cantina had somehow got ahead of him, and who was making a grab for his large hat. In a quick movement, he threw the object right at the Jedi. Undeterred by this surprising move, he elected to grab the disc mid-air with his off-hand and spun his whole body around to throw the object with full force towards Aurra. In a manner of seconds, the sniper was thrown to the floor of the roof as she was suddenly struck in the head, knocking her out.

Embo made a very dissatisfied grunt as he drew out his bowcaster and shot at the charging Jedi. Quinlan once again deflects the bolts until he had closed the distance and quickly sliced the weapon with his lightsaber into two inoperable pieces. Quinlan proceeded to follow up his attack with a horizontal slash right into the Kuyzo's abdomen, attempting to cleave him horizontally in a Sai Tok maneuver, but his adversary had already seen the movement well in advance. He jumped back from the green blade before he could be caught. Quinlan was irritated that his adversary had incredible reflexes, not too dissimilar to a Jedi, in his frustration he made an impulse decision to follow up his attack with an off-hand overhead strike.

Embo however, was hoping for this to happen. With incredible speed, he rushed forward and caught Quinlan's left wrist as it was at its apex in the air. He then squeezed down and used his natural strength to break the carpal bones in the Jedi's hand, as evidenced by a sudden scream of pain that came to the Jedi. Wasting no time, Embo then grabbed Quinlan's shoulders and fiercely kneed him square in the abdomen, and in a single movement he used his superior strength to throw Quinlan over himself and clear off the side of the building. The Jedi fell three stories before crashing down into a small alleyway with a hard thump.

Quinlan was immobile for a few seconds, his body in shock from the overload of pain in his system. Eventually, he tried to open his eyes, but all he saw were blurred images and lights, and a single figure walking with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face; Cad Bane had managed to catch up to him. Quinlan hopelessly tired to reach out for his lightsaber which had fallen out of his hand during the fall, now laying near his body. A firm stomp from Bane's boot and the subsequent crunching sound coming from his hand thwarted his attempt, and while the Kiffar again screamed in agony Bane walked over and firmly kicked Quinlan in the side. The distinct crunching sound of his ribs breaking and the following pain made while rolling over onto his back, crying out in sheer agony. Bane paused his attack as looked over to the side to see that Embo had calmly walked up behind him, but was missing his rimmed hat.

"What happened to Aurra, and your hat?"

"He threw it at her. I think she's unconscious."

Bane gave a shrug along with a reply. "That's not so bad, she likely won't even remember what happened. We might even just split the money between us two if we're quick about it."

Quinlan could not bear to listen to what the two partners in crime were racing. While he was still in much pain, he mind was now racing with feelings of confusion and regret.

 _This isn't happening, I never thought it would end so abruptly._ He thought as he came to realize his fate. For the first, and last time, the Force could not save Quinlan Vos.

Bane finished his little chat with Embo and turned back to Quinlan, still lying on the ground. "You disappoint me, Jedi, I thought that you would've put up more of a fight, maybe even at least ten minutes would have been good enough for someone like you. Oh well, it's still going to mean six million credits at your expense." He took out his blaster and pointed it straight at Quinlan's head.

"Who are you working for, bounty hunter? I wouldn't know anyone who would pay so much for a single Jedi. Tell me, who's the one paying you to kill me?"

Bane contemplated the question, realizing that there was no real harm in telling the Jedi anything, since he was about to die anyway, and since Bane himself didn't know much either.

"I don't know, but my employer seems to have some grudge against you, and he wants you out of the picture; it's the standard stuff. Now enough talk Jedi, make peace with the Force and make it quick. I've wasted enough time as it is and I'm looking forward to getting my pay at your expense." The Jedi gave no reply to the bounty hunter, nor did he change his expression to him, signifying that he had nothing else to say to him. "Alright, that works too."

 _I'm so sorry, Aayla. I've failed you._ Quinlan finally thought. It gave him a small bit of comfort to know that his apprentice and long-time companion would still be around to remember him.

Bane had waited long enough, and his trigger finger was itching to lay waste to this whelp of a Jedi. But right then and there, just before he could end him, he heard a small, hollow thumping sound coming from behind him. Quickly turning around to detect the disturbance, he, along with Embo was suddenly blinded by an intense flash of light.

"Kriffing... a flashbang?" He shouted angrily.

Then, out of nowhere, Quinlan saw a dark, cloaked silhouette suddenly descend from one of the nearby buildings and dropped silently to the ground behind Bane.

What followed in the span of mere seconds was a stunning display of acrobatics and martial arts as the silhouette kicked Bane in the face and then grabbed him by the shoulders, sending him flying into a nearby wall. Embo punched and kicked wildly into the air in a vain attempt to hit the new adversary, but the silhouette effortlessly avoiding the bounty hunter's staggered attacks. Embo then was grabbed by the arm and had it subsequently twisted, and broken, then he took a painful elbow to the face, before finally being thrown off his feet with a sweeping kick.

With the immediate dangers out of the way, the silhouette then pulled out a small blaster and aimed and fired stun blasts at both of the bounty hunters before either had the opportunity to get back up; not that they would've done much while in their current condition.

With the Force having seemingly intervened directly and come to his aid, Quinlan laid in awe as his savior then turned to him and slowly walked over his crippled mass with a flamboyant stride before stopping right before coming into sight within the streetlights.

Then, something else happened. Within the darkness, the silhouette laid its left hand on its concealed face, and oh so softly and gradually removed its mask. A piece of metal dropped unceremoniously to the hard ground and was deftly kicked to the side. The silhouette then walked closer to the lamplight where Quinlan could see in far more clarity.

He could tell it was a woman by the sight of her thin frame. She appeared to be wearing a black cape over an also black bodysuit, with a few pieces of armor on her chest, abdomen, arms, and legs. Then, Quinlan looked up at her face. Even with his vision blurred, and her more detailed features were beyond his comprehension, he could tell that she was at least fairly good-looking. Above all else, she had two pristine, deep blue eyes that seemingly stared into the Jedi's soul, looking as if though they were perfect, perfect...

 _Sapphires?_ He solemnly thought. At last, Kenobi's words were coming together to describe the mysterious woman in front of him. After all, Obi-Wan specifically mentioned that "she likes to make a good first impression", and saving one's life was one good way to do that in Quinlan's mind.

She gave him a blank stare, indicative of her silently efficient manner. She did, however, extend her arm and pointed her blaster right at Quinlan, face. He winced in surprise before feeling the impact of the tranquilizing blast, and immediately going out cold. The woman walked over to him and grabbed the unconscious Kiffar by the shoulders, bringing their faces within centimeters of each other.

A second later she dropped him instantly, and walked over to her mask, picking it back up and fixing it back onto her face. She then looked over at the Jedi for a good moment, pondering what to do with him. Eventually, she sighed, her mind was made up.

"Trust me, Jedi, you haven't seen anything yet."


	8. Thoughts, Whispers, and Rain

Author's Note: Also, I apologize for the late upload, but since my break is over I'll have to dedicate a hell of a lot more time to my schoolwork. Don't worry, though, I promise to keep typing up new chapters, but I would hate to rush things! If you like what I'm typing so far, be sure to review, favorite, and share this story with your friends!

* * *

 **Episode 8A: "And to think, Jedi Were Supposed to Be the Strange Ones..."**

There was something special about Kamino. You didn't have to be a Jedi to feel that there was something, off, about the ocean world. Perhaps it was the constant raining and thunderstorms that gave a sense of foreboding, or perhaps it was the many rumors native Kaminoans, both reasonable and merely speculative that disturbed visitors.

Notwithstanding any oddities, Master Shaak Ti was biding her time as usual on Kamino. It was her duty, after all, to look after and monitor the developing Clones Troopers that would soon be thrust into battle against the separatists and their battle droids; there was no point in worrying about the superstition and myths about where she was stationed.

Tipoca City was a vast system of massive stilt structures that stuck out from the vast oceans of Kamino, inspired by Alderaanian architecture, it could have been a tourist attraction if it were somewhere less remote. However, despite the impressive aesthetic of the facility, it wasn't a very exciting place. The Kaminoans had been living in seclusion from the rest of the Galaxy for untold millennia before now, idly experimenting with new technologies for their own advantage and not much beyond that. To the natives, no single war or crisis, no matter how destructive, was going to interrupt their way of life dedicated solely to technological and scientific advancement.

Sitting in the middle of the buildings, the constant raining, and inhabitants both cloned and not cloned, Shaak Ti was peacefully meditating outside in the middle of one of the bridges that connected the massive buildings together. She sat at the backdrop of a morning filled with dark clouds and heavy rain. Despite her robes being soaking wet at this point, she continued to sit steadfastly and her breathing remained uniform, her lekku swaying softly in the wind, and her mind in peace and everlasting tranquility.

As she often did, she was thinking of the clones that were raised here from birth and shortly to adulthood. Though she never got to know any of them very well, she almost felt sorry for them. They were bred and trained to live specifically for only the most horrific experience imaginable, war. Though they were far above and beyond the droids that they fought, they had a similar purpose, to fight and kill until you die, then be replaced by someone else. This was not what bothered her worst of all, however, was the treatment of these clones by the Kaminoans. While she had protested this numerous times, the Kaminoans seemed to find absolutely no problem with the slave-like behavior that the clones are subjected to. Indeed, she thought about these things very often, and so she often found herself outside, where no one would bother her, at least not most of the time.

She didn't need to hear the distinct clanking of boots on the wet metal surface of the bridge to know that a someone was walking up to her, the Force told her long before that a clone would be coming. He was nearly within arm's length of the Jedi and almost spoke before interrupting himself, choosing instead not to say anything to the Torgruta woman sitting before him in fear of disturbing her meditation. Instead, he simply made his presence known to her by standing near her, putting his hands behinds his back in a semi-respectful manner, awaiting a response. It was a tense minute of silence as the rain continued pouring relentlessly on the two.

Then finally, she spoke up. "What do you think of the rain, CT-4639? Does it ease your mind with its rhythmic humming, or does it just put you on edge, even more than you already are, that is?"

He gulped as an initial response. Frankly, he was still not used to the fact that this very special woman could know the numerical designation of every clone trooper on Kamino, not to mention what they could be thinking or feeling at that moment, all without even looking at them; it was unsettling, to say the least. "Well, I'm not really sure what to think about it, General. I just wish that I could see a clear sky more often. Anyway, I have a message from Coruscant, they didn't say who it was but-."

"Thank you for telling me." She interrupted, "I'll attend to it shortly."

"Um...Yes, General." He replied before quickly turning around and walking away.

She stood up and made her way back to the doorway that she had originally walked out of into the rain. The double doors opened automatically, allowing the Jedi inside without a skip in the motion of her serene walking.

 _So, Aayla wants to talk to me? This is not usual for her._ She thought along the way.

The inside corridors of Kaminoan facilities like this one reflected the personality of its inhabitants: clean but featureless. White and small traces of black dominated the walls everywhere, and there was little beyond quiet conversations here and there to penetrate the silent atmosphere of the hallways. For most, even Master Ti, it was unsettling, to say the least.

She suddenly felt a strong push on her right shoulder. She turned to see that someone had bumped into her. It was a Kaminoan dressed in standard attire, Director Jing Sai, one of the chief engineering scientists on Kamino. The shocked look on his face told the Jedi that he was once again in a rush to get somewhere.

"Oh, my apologies Master Jedi, I accidentally forgot to look where I was going." He said in slow monotony, a reflection of his detached Kaminoan personality.

She smiled at him. "Through the Force, there are no such things as accidents, but I accept your apology, director."

"Yes, yes, of course." He finished weakly as he quickly strode away from a perplexed Master Ti. To her, this Kaminoan, in particular, seemed to be a bit different from his peers, no matter how hard he might hide it. Whatever it was, however, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

 _Oh no. I hope I didn't scare him away again._ She thought.

* * *

 **Episode 8B: "He said, "This will benefit both of us, eventually'."**

Sai turned a corner and walked near an unlocked door. He made a good observation of any bystanders before walking through the door without arousing any attention. The room he found himself in was one of the private lounging rooms, where Kaminoans would take the time to socialize and communicate while they weren't working; this one, in particular, was empty. Sensing the opportunity, he quickly locked the door behind him with a security access code and dimmed the lights.

 _That was too close. He's not going to be pleased with this._

He collected his thoughts and realized that the time was right; nobody could disturb him now, nor could they hope to imagine what he would be doing. He walked near large holo-communicator occupying the middle of the room. He entered a small chain of numbers into the interface before sitting down into the nearest chair.

A few seconds passed by until the communicator transmitted the image a heavily cloaked figure stood with his back toward the director. He appeared very large in the hologram, with a hand clenching his chin while the other was behind his back. To Sai's slight annoyance, he did not answer immediately, but rather gradually turning around to meet the director's face. The person's own face was hidden behind a large and heavy hood, with only the faintest details able to be made out against the darkness.

"Ah, Director Jing Sai, finally grown a backbone and decided to respond to my calls, I see." He finally spoke in a soft and upbeat tone. "You surprise me, honestly. I imagined that you would've lost your courage at this point; Kaminoans have a reputation to be weak-willed, after all. Well then, speak."

"You know why I've contacted you. I've have upheld my end of the bargain, our special asset has been successfully shipped off Kamino, as you requested."

"Did it now? Well, what do the Jedi know of this?"

"I took the time needed to meddle with the official report and delete any important information before it reached the Jedi Master Shaak Ti. She, as well the rest of the Jedi Council only know that the ship was attacked, and whatever cargo it had were seized by an unknown party, pirates or bounty hunters for all they know. Whatever the case, the ship was destroyed, and any physical evidence along with it. It's enough for them to get by without them knowing too much, I assure you."

The mysterious man pondered these for a moment before replying. "Hmm. Good, that is good. One more instrument of my ultimate victory has been set in its place, as I had expected." He took a moment to relish his minor victory before turning his attention back to his Kaminoan servant and smiling with a sadistic glee. "And as for you, my dear Director Sai, your reward for your deeds will arrive in due time on Kamino."

"What, that's it? Don't tell me that you are just going to leave me here with no knowledge of what you are really doing." He demanded.

"What difference does it make to you? Unless you plan on helping me further, then you have no business in knowing my plans." Was the calm reply that the director received. However, it did not alleviate his frustration one bit. He clenched his right hand into a fist as he became more irritated.

"I disagree. You know, I am quite insulted that you would just cast me aside after my initial usefulness has expired. Are your forgetting how desperate you appealed to me for assistance? To think that this is how I am treated for my loyalty to a person that I don't even know! I am not another puppet to be dragged around for my master's pleasure! If anything, I could just confront the Jedi Council right now and..."

He stopped as he felt a strange tingling feeling in his throat, suddenly, that feeling turning to pain, one with such intensity as if it were being crushed under a piece of machinery. He began gagging, then after he collapsed out of his chair from the sheer agony. Then found himself slowly rising into the air, stopping until his eyes were now level with the hooded face of his associate. He could now make out the shape of the man's mouth, shaped in a gleeful expression.

He gave out a faint chuckle toward the director. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I breaking your concentration perchance? Please, go ahead."

"Agh! P-please! F-forgive my in...solence." He struggled to say through his half-crushed throat, feeling that his whole neck could break at a moment's notice.

"That's what I thought." The Director then felt a release in his neck, and he suddenly plummeted to the floor. He wheezed and coughed for a moment before recovering, looking up to see that the cloaked man had continued laughing at his misery. "Remember, I don't need to look at you to snap that toothpick of a neck you have in two, Director. If you wanted to spoil my plans to the Jedi, you would never have enough time before I cut off your loose tongue of yours permanently."

"Try as you may, the Jedi will still learn enough from my corpse." Director Sai retorted. "Then, they will hunt you down, and kill you along with me."

"Ha, I would like to see them try! My abilities transcend that of those weak and pathetic Jedi. If they were foolish enough to seek me, then they will wish they stayed inside the safety of their precious temple! Speaking of which, I sense that there is something about that one... what was her name again, Shaak Ti? that you haven't told me. Would you care to explain?"

"Yes, I think she's starting to suspect something she doesn't like about me." He began as he slowly positioned himself back in his chair, "I keep running into her at the most inconvenient of times, and she constantly asks questions about what I'm doing or where I am going. Even just before I contacted you I was confronted by her, and she gave me a most suspicious gaze."

He sighed. "No, no. She doesn't sense anything wrong with you, apart from the fact that you're a paranoid nutcase, that is. However, I will not take the risk of having you of all people accidentally reveal my plans if things go awry."

"What will you do now?" Sai asked timidly.

He sighed again before turning his back toward the Director. "I will do what I have always done, wait. It would be suicidal to attack the Jedi head on, I must strike when the opportunity is within my own grasp and when everything that I had envisioned finally comes into play." He sighed at this realization before continuing. "Yes, I suppose you've kept up your end of the bargain. This will be our final communication, you must not contact me again, ever. The payment for your services will arrive once my plans have been fully realized and completed. Do not worry my friend, if all goes well, then I can promise you that the amount due will most certainly be worth the wait."

"I had better hope so. I am taking a large enough risk as it is to stay silent about our dealings." He reiterated.

"You'll get everything you want and then some. Oh, and one more thing before I leave, Director. Try to relax from time to time, you wouldn't want to 'choke' on all that pent-up stress!" The Director suddenly felt that agonizing pain again for a solid three seconds before he was released. " Hahahaha..." The projector suddenly deactivated, and the hologram disappeared with it.

Director Sai once again gasped out as his throat recovered from the torture. He took deep, long breaths as he realized that he had nothing more to do than to wait and see what would become of that strange fellow and his mysterious endeavor. He had been hesitant to gamble with somebody as idealistic, or perhaps insane as this man, but he had made his decision, there was backing no out of this deal now, quite literally not on his life.

He didn't waste any time walking out of the room and back into the hallway. While he wished to see how he would be rewarded for his services, he still had an actual responsibility on Kamino, a responsibility he has forsaken for long enough. Turning his head to the left to take a look down the hallway, he did not see anyone or anything that was out of the ordinary. He turned to the right as well, seeing the same result. A smile slowly grew on his face as he thought that once again he had kept his secret for a little longer. However, he turned back forward to see two strange horn-like appendages, and when he looked down, he saw two violet eyes staring right into his soul.

 _Damn, not her again! This woman will be the death of me!_ He thought as he was started by the sudden and unwelcome appearance of Shaak Ti, her robes still wet from her outdoor meditation and standing in front of him with a posture of such seriousness that it intimidated him nearly as much as the man he finished talking to.

In mere seconds, he quickly realized his critical error of thinking out loud in front of a Jedi; whatever semblance of a smile that Shaak Ti had was quickly replaced with a disappointing frown. "Is that really how much you are disgusted with my presence?" She asked, "I'm surprised, Director, I thought Kaminoans had a strict standard of etiquette for visitors."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I just have many things on my mind at the moment, and I can't afford to waste my precious time when I can be doing very important work."

"Important work? Forgive me for saying this, but I haven't seen you perform much of what I would consider 'important work' lately."

"And yet shouldn't you be on your way with your own business as well?" He replied in annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in fact, but then I heard strange noises coming from inside one of the recreation lounges, I think it was yours, actually. It sounded almost like somebody was crying out in pain."

His expression did not change in the slightest from the response that Shaak Ti gave, but in his mind, he was now extremely worried that the Jedi had finally caught onto something that would blow his cover. Seeing no other feasible options, decided to risk it again and lie to the Jedi, "Ah, well, you must have heard wrong then. I was just clearing my head, actually." He said as nonchalantly as possible.

Shaat Ti raised her left eye at this confession in complete confusion. "Really, meditation? I never took you for someone who practiced meditation, but I will take your word for it. Still, though, I could have sworn that I heard something, my Montrals don't lie to me you know. Are you absolutely sure it was nothing?"

Director Sai could now see that he has gained the initiative in the conversation, and could sense that a satisfying end was within a few more well-placed sentences. "I assure you it was nothing of your concern, Master Jedi. It is true that I meditate from time to time to keep a level mind in the face of my important research, of which I must now return to."

"Forgive me for bothering you then, Director. I will be on my way. However, I will suggest that you try to be more careful with your thoughts next time." She calmly advised as she passed away from him. Director Sai, not wanting to spend another second looking at that infernal red woman, quickly turned and walked down the hall opposite from Master Ti.

* * *

 **Episode 9C: "If All Else Fails, You'll still Be Tere for Me, Right?"**

Shaak Ti continued her trek through the hallways. After a few minutes of uneventful walking, she turned a corner and eventually found herself standing in front of a locked door. After quickly typing the passcode into the door's security panel, it opened and the lights quickly illuminated inside. This was her personal sleeping quarters on Kamino; not quite as spacious as her room in the Jedi Temple nor was it as filled with every convenience, but it was serviceable enough.

A quick change of dry clothing was the first thing on the cards for Master Ti, then she walked through a side door leading to her personal holo-room. It was mainly for communicating with the Jedi Council while on Kamino, as such there was a single chair with similar dimensions as the ones used in the Jedi Council chambers; the rest of the council was projected with numerous small pads that would display the image of the other Councilors on Coruscant.

There was also console on one side of the room, with a beeping light that caught the attention of the Jedi Master. She walked over to console and saw that indeed, a single person was requesting communication from Coruscant. She pressed a finger on the console, then after a few seconds, she heard a low hum coming from behind her. She turned to see the holo-image of Aayla Secura standing in the middle of the room. Just from her unusually soft and uninspiring expression on her face, Shaak Ti could immediately feel that Aayla didn't call just to exchange pleasantries.

Ignoring her instincts, she began enthusiastically, "Master Secura, it's so good to see you again. How are you doing?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid. I need to talk to you about something since nobody else seems to be available."

"Oh, I see". Shaak Ti replied, now certain that she was definitely not well. "I do have plenty of spare time to talk with you. Don't rush what you have to tell me, please."

A chair appeared in view of the hologram, which was soon occupied by Secura before she continued. "Well, it's about... him." She struggled to say.

Shaak Ti had inferred that this was going to be the subject of the conversation, but she chose to act surprised anyway. "You mean Master Vos?" She asked.

"Yes. I was wondering if you could tell me some information about his most recent mission." Secura said with determination.

"If you encountered him before he left, then I am sure he told you most of the important details before he left. Yes, he has been assigned to retrieve an important device that was stolen from one of our transports, an agent will accompany him in order to help him track down this device before it is too late."

"Oh, I see. I was just curious if he wasn't conveniently lying to me again, he has a tendency to do that sometimes." She said timidly.

Shaak Ti gave a frown, it didn't take a Jedi's wisdom to see that Aayla was clearly lying. "I can see through what you're trying to say, Aayla, you're not doing a very good job at hiding your emotions. You miss him, don't you?"

She sighed," Yes, I do miss him. That's what I really wanted to talk to you about. You see, I worried about him. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that something terrible is going to happen."

Shaak Ti was surprised to hear that Aayla too felt uneasy about this whole ordeal as well. She had assumed that whatever doubt that she and the rest of the Jedi Council sensed was simply an overreaction, especially on her own part. Nonetheless, in order to at least ease Aayla's worries, Shaak Ti dismissed the idea of bringing it up.

"You should have a bit more faith in your master, don't you think?" Shaak Ti asked. "While I will concede that he often overconfident and definitely eccentric at times, he is still a very brave and skilled Jedi. He has dealt with far more dangerous tasks that you or I wouldn't dare take on ourselves. You must trust in Quinlan to take care of himself."

"But I can't help it, Master Ti, I think it would be unwise to simply let him face these dangers alone. Something is different, wrong even. I don't know what it is, but it is unlike anything that I've sensed before. I have to seek him out.

Shaak Ti shook her head at Aayla's last suggestion. "You can not truly be sure of anything, Aayla. Think as you might, but ultimately, his fate lies in his hands, not yours. There is nothing you can do for him now."

"But I... I can't just leave him like that, Shaak Ti. I..."

"Aayla, don't you see what is really happening? This desperation with every word coming out of you, this isn't like you at all. You have become attached to Master Vos, haven't you? Enough to where you have become afraid to lose him."

Aayla quietly gasped at Ti's accusation, "I don't know what you are you talking about." She quickly replied, "I didn't say anything about becoming attached, I was just worried about his safety."

"Yes, and why are you so worried about him? Quit lying to yourself, Aayla. Face it, you have to let go of your master to ease your mind."

She lowered her head in defeat. Shaak Ti was one of the wisest Jedi in the Order, comparable even to Yoda at times, and she just told Aayla what she herself could not bear to realize. For Aayla, it was pointless to deny it any longer, and she looked back up at Shaak Ti.

"I was at Quinlan's side for nearly ten years, you know. During that time, he tried his absolute hardest to teach me in the ways of the force and the values we Jedi hold dear, but there was always more to it than just that. Besides teaching, he was the one who always went out of his way to look after my own well-being, who comforted me in my times of strife and helped pick me up when I fell down, and he was the one who always believed in me no matter what happened. He's was never just my master, he's felt more like the father I never had. So yes, I suppose in a way, I have become attached to him. I don't know what I would do without him, and I am so terribly ashamed of it.

With this final admittance, Shaak Ti gave her a smile of approval as she realized that her message had gotten through to Aayla. "Do not feel so ashamed about it. To let go of anyone you care about is far easier said than done. For a Jedi, it's one of the most difficult things for a to accomplish, something far more difficult than any trial or ritual we are put through. I know this firsthand. "

"How would you know this sort of pain?" She asked."

"Well, I was once in a comparable situation, actually." She began, "When I discovered that my recently-Knighted apprentice Fe Sun was murdered while away on her first mission, I was utterly devastated. The news struck me harder than I ever expected, and that pain stuck with me for weeks on end with the additional nightmares of her despair and death, over and over again. I did not realize it beforehand, but just like you are now attached to your Master Quinlan, I was attached to Fe Sun. She was everything to me, my sole pride and joy in life, and that was the root of my problem: I had loved her too much to let her go, and I paid the price in my quiet anguish."

She let Aayla sink in her tragic story, allowing for the young Twi'lek to understand and connect to her pain. "Shaak Ti, I'm so sorry. I never knew that you cared so deeply for her, I had always assumed that your relationship was cordial at best."

Shaak Ti slowly nodded. "Yes, it was quite possibly the most grueling and depressing point in my life by far. Then, after I had shed every tear that my eyes would give, I slowly began to realize that what had happened was in no way my fault. I finally understood that I had done everything that I could for her all this time and accepted that what's done was done. Listen, Aayla, I'm not saying that you must shut yourself off and avoid him for the rest of your life, but try to understand that if you continue to be emotionally chained to him, you will not be able to become the Jedi that you are supposed to be."

"Yes, I see your point. I will have to think this over." Aayla paused for a moment, looking down as she sat thinking over her newly realized purpose. She looked back up and smiled at Ti.

"Although I would've preferred to just be talking with you personally on Kamino, a hologram can't hug a person, after all."

Shaak Ti sense of relief was barely represented by her simple smile back to Aayla, "You are welcome on Kamino at any time if you would like to meditate with me."

Aayla bowed to her counterpart, "I might just take you up on your offer, Master Ti. Goodbye."

Shaak Ti laid back in her chair and crossed her arms, thinking about what she had said. In truth, this was by far the most that she had ever talked about her last apprentice, not even to her fellow Jedi Masters did she ever talk about Fe Sun. To talk at such great lengths about a personal matter was strange, but it did feel good in a way. She went back to thinking about what Aayla said to her about her worries about this latest quest that the Council sent Quinlan Vos on. Indeed, Shaak Ti had dismissed the idea of Quinlan being in some danger when speaking to Aayla, but nonetheless, she still wondered what would become of that charismatic Kiffar.

Yes, Shaak Ti still had a lot to think about.

 _That Clone was right, I wish I could see clearly, just once._


	9. Death and Rebirth

Author's Note: Indeed, I am not dead, yet. In the estimated 90 years that I still have to live, I am confident that I can finish this fanfiction. With that said, and in celebration of not being dead, here is the (extremely) overdue and long-awaited ninth chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Episode 9A: "What is the Reality of 'Reality'?"**

Quinlan could feel his own existence; everything else was subject but at least he knew he was still there. He could feel himself open laying down with his eyes closed and he opened his eyes only to witness pale white, lots of it. He looked down at his body, he was still covered in his Jedi robes. Then he looked over at his hand and very slowly attempted to move it to confirm that he still had motor functions. Eventually, one-by-one his fingers began to move in response.

He found himself, somewhere. There was nothing but white all around. There was no sky, no land, no sea, no points of interest, no beginning or end, just a very milky white. In this sense, there was no concept of up or down, Quinlan could not feel the concept of gravity or surfaces. He was not even standing up since there was nothing to stand on; rather, he was motionless some sort of empty void.

"Hello?" He yelled out, "Is anybody here? Bane? Yoda? Anybody?" Quinlan didn't hear his voice ring out. It made sense since he wasn't in an enclosed area like a cave, but even a cave was more comforting than simply being nowhere.

"Damn, where... where the hell am I?" He asked in frustration.

"This is nothing, and also everything." A voice rang out in no particular direction. Quinlan turned his head around until his vision came across a man near him. He was covered in flowing black robes, with hair dark enough to match it. His face had the sharp yet aged and delicate features of a middle-aged man. His hairline receded in a way that gave his forehead a significant widow's peak, and his eyes had a slight green tint to them.

Quinlan looked in curiosity as this man suddenly appeared much closer to him. For some reason, he seemed very familiar, yet still a mystery. "Do I, do I know you?"

"What an interesting question. How are you to understand who I am if you have yet to understand yourself? You think you are Quinlan Vos, but you can not be sure of that, just as you can not be sure of who I am."

The way those words came out, the tone of his voice and the pacing of his words seemed to be very familiar to Vos, but he was still unsure of the man's identity. "Well, I can make an educated guess that I am Quinlan Vos. After all, I dress like him, I talk like him, and I even think like him. Is that good enough for you?"

The man put his hand on his chin as he looked longingly into Vos' eyes. "Yes, I suppose you are Quinlan Vos after all. But therein still lies the first question, do you know who I am?"

"You? I think you are... you are Jedi Master Tholme, my teacher." Vos answered stoically. The man before him smiled, obviously impressed by that answer.

"And if I were not to protest, then it is decided that I am Tholme and you are Quinlan; the master and the student. Yes, I like that very much."

Vos nodded as he became enveloped in more questions racking his mind. _Why am I here? Why was my Master here? What exactly is here?_

"Say, Tholme, I remember you dying. Asajj Ventress killed you, no?"

"If you say that it is correct, then so it is. What of it?"

"Well, you died, and now you're here, and coincidentally I'm here as well. Does that mean that I am..."

"Dead?" Thome finished. "I can not be sure of anything that is present. Just as I am unable to describe the utter nothingness before you and me, I draw a blank as to how we still exist, talking to each other. With that in mind, I must ask a question of my choosing." Tholme suddenly appeared right in front of Quinlan's face, revealing all of his facial details to be exactly like what they were the last time Quinlan saw them. Then, Tholme was behind him, breathing down his neck, and then he was to his sides, and then nowhere to be seen.

"In this realm, time and space do not exist. Physical matter does not exist, either. If I chose, I could appear to be as far or as away from you in an instant without any actual effort. Nothing here is able to stop that, for there is nothing in the first place. 'Nothing creates more nothing', a paradox that makes both complete sense and none at all simultaneously. So in this realm where nothing exists, does that include death itself? Are we even dead at all?

Quinlan was silent, for solving such conundrums was not nearly his expertise. His master was unable to confirm much of anything; it was just as he said, this realm contains absolutely nothing, nothing except two fleshy, clothed bodies named Quinlan and Tholme.

"As you said, there is nothing here besides the two of us, why is that? Why in this realm, where nothing is everything, are we the sole exceptions? Why are there just two of use, when there could be more or less? I referred to you as Tholme, and you referred to me as Quinlan, but that is only because we created names for ourselves, because we created appearances and feelings and voices for ourselves that we identify with those names. If we are able to do so many things involuntarily, then I don't think that we are bound to the nothingness of this place. The way I see it, we are artists enveloped completely by our own canvas, and we have yet to wet the brush."

"So as artists, we are also the gods of this realm," Tholme declared. "The nature of our being here continues to elude me, as I am sure it does for you, but if what you say is right, then we are bound by no limits except for those which we place onto ourselves. So in an instant, you or I could create whatever we desire with details accurate to the letter. We could create utopia and dystopia, war and famine, peace and prosperity, civilization and anarchy, literature and ignorance. At this point, actually, I must correct myself when I say that the names we give yourself are meaningful when they are not. As the rulers of this realm, we can give yourself our own definitions, make sense of things in different ways and create entirely new meanings to pointless things. The very definition of "anything" itself could even be brought into question."

"Anything, eh?" Quinlan asked. "If I can control what anything itself can be, then I am more powerful than a god, more powerful than the Force, even. In this sense, we are the gods of gods. Well, I want to create something..."

There was a bright flash of light, brighter than the brightest of Quasars and Supernovae, brighter than what could be comprehended as "bright". Quinlan saw that the vast, white nothingness was replaced with a more contemporary setting within an instant, time itself being at his whim and therefore being irrelevant. He could see that he was now in a courtyard of sorts; he immediately recognized it as one of the many courtyards in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. There were numerous trees of wicked and unique shapes lying about in the warmth of the sun over Coruscant. The color Grey, as the color of the metallic surfaces making up most of the area, completely eliminated the vast sea and space of white. Quinlan Vos comprehended what he had done fully. Everything that was around him was based on feelings and experiences and knowledge of what the Jedi Temple was. He also knew to feel somewhat happy doing this as well, as essentially he was recreating his home from scratch as exactly as he had remembered it.

Naturally, memories are not limited objects, but people as well. As such, several Jedi were there as well in this courtyard, of all sorts of species and cultures; among them, Quinlan could see his good friend Obi-Wan Kenobi in the distance conversing with Luminara and Anakin, and he also saw Masters Yoda and Windu meditating near one of the trees. There was the young but brave Anakin Skywalker in the distance, the Chosen One talking to his Torgruta padawan Ahsoka about... something; Quinlan was never in touch with those two as the pair simply had too many things to do elsewhere.

It was peaceful, serene; as if there was never any sort of Galactic conflict, the concept of war or violence completely incompatible with this place. Vos felt comfort in this place, it was very... soft, and gentle, and even delicate, and even...

Quinlan jolted as he felt somebody tug at his arm from behind. He snapped his head over to see a woman with a bright blue complexion giving him a warm smile.

"Hello, master. How are you doing?"

Quinlan was taken aback enough from the greeting that he paused for a second before responding. "Oh... I'm doing just fine, Aayla. Thank you for asking," Quinlan looked over Aayla's shoulder to see Tholme leaning one of the trees in the courtyard, "But if you'll excuse me, I must speak to Master Tholme right now."

"But didn't you just get here? I thought that we could... No, I understand. Well, tell him that I said hello." Aayla said before walking away. Quinlan quickly walked over to where Tholme was. He was smiling at his apprentice as he neared.

"So, of all the things that you could have created, you chose this?" Tholme asked suspiciously as he got off the tree.

"We are, or we at least identified as Jedi when we were mortals, so I would've expected that you too would want to think about our home. I think it's quaint, really."

"I can see what you did, but I'm not entirely sure what it means. You may create a place you feel comfortable, but based only upon what you think you feel is comfortable, not what you wish to define yourself. And just now, Aayla Secura approached you and attempted to initiate a conversation with you; did you intend for that to happen on purpose, do you like having someone like her around? If so, is it because you defined that relationship as you did there rest of this setting, or because you had an innate feeling that was created independently of everything else?"

"I, don't know." Quinlan replied, "It could have been either reason or maybe even both. Maybe I remember my interactions with her to be slightly different, and so I modified them as I created everything else."

Tholme rolled his eyes, obviously unimpressed with that response. "Perhaps, but at the very least, you failed to create something for yourself entirely. Secura is not the only instance." He pointed towards Anakin and Ahsoka in the distance, still chatting about... something, "Those two, why are they so away from us, that we could never have a conversation with them? Don't answer that, because I already know myself; it is because you never had any interactions with them apart from the odd greeting or two and what you created is based off those experiences."

Vos raised an eyebrow, "What's your point? Do you think I am doing something wrong?"

"No. You have not done something wrong, but you are not expressing anything that could not have existed anywhere else. If I were to return to the allegory of an artist, then you have chosen to paint with only the basic colors and nothing more. And like the artist who chooses not to mix paint and create something more expressive, so too do you choose not to create anything interesting."

"But art is subjective, is it not?" Vos asked. "What you find boring or uninspired is exactly what I would find satisfying. I recreated the Jedi temple because I felt that the tranquility here is itself something to be admired."

"And yet again I must repeat myself. Tholme replied. "It is not as though it is isn't sufficient, but you cast away the opportunity to create something more bold, more cunning. Observe; look back at the Chosen One and his Padawan."

Vos did as he said, but was not prepared for what he would see. Anakin and Ahsoka seemed to be having a jubilant conversation; apparently, a good joke must have come out at some point and the Chosen One was leaning on his Apprentice's shoulder from laughter.

"That's a pretty good one, but do you know something that's even funnier?" Anakin asked.

"What?" She replied.

It only now occurred to Vos that he could actually hear the two talking, despite what Tholme had described earlier. They did not appear to be any closer than before, so it was obvious that Tholme was controlling not only the visual but the audible aspects of events.

Anakin suddenly gripped the Padawan by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Vos winced from the disturbing sound of bone and flesh being crushed under metal.

"Lots of people tell me that I think like an autocrat," Anakin spoke with a low, growly voice. "and I guess having an iron grip is not going to help change their minds." Anakin was satisfied to hear a certain "crack" and dropped her like a ragdoll; needless to say, she didn't get back up. Vos' eyes were wide open and he shivered very slightly.

Vos looked back at Tholme, whose face not only showed that he was satisfied with his actions, looked with glee as though he had enjoyed doing it.

"Th-that's awful!" Vos exclaimed. "Why would you want that to happen?"

"You mistake my intention. It is not as though I specifically wanted this to happen; in this case, I am merely indifferent. Rather, what happened serves to prove my point, that with a single thought you or I could create something completely new, something that can create new experiences, new feelings for which even more could be created. Through my actions, a brand new cycle of events begins which shall trigger an innumerable amount of other events."

"Why do you insist on such change? What is your motive, what have you to gain?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but that is not the point. The point is that we both have the ability to facilitate the creation of a new existence, a new order. You said it yourself earlier when you mentioned that we are the gods of gods. If you really believed in what you said, then why do you cling so heavily to the status quo?"

"You must join me, Vos. I need your help, Vos. Together, Vos, we can do anything. All it takes is your trust in me, so why don't you take that first step?"

"Becuase... a Sith is the last person I would want to trust," Vos replied slowly.

It suddenly got very quiet. The chatter of the others in the courtyard suddenly ceased. The blue sky above greyed and then gradually turned Orange, eventually becoming blood red. Quinlan could feel an uneasy pressure about him like he was being watched, or about to be ambushed. Tholme stood there with his head down. Suddenly, he started chuckling, then continued into a full blow-laughter. He put a hand over his face to control himself from the outcry of emotions. Soon enough, he stopped laughing, and looked up and let his hand fall down, revealing two reddish-yellow eyes.

"I have to admit, you're not as dumb as you look."

Vos shrugged and put his hands on his hips. "Well, what can I say? I guess I have a knack for finding trouble even in alternate realities."

Tholme smirked and suddenly rushed forward at Vos with an incredible speed. Vos couldn't even blink before he found himself being strangled at the hands of this Sith in disguise, He gripped at his assailant's wrists in a vain attempt to release himself.

"I am not a Sith", Tholme growled, "No, I am far, far more powerful than any Sith. And now, you are going.. to bend.. to ME!"

Vos, desperate to escape, headbutted Tholme and jumped back. "Whatever you call yourself doesn't matter anymore. I will not let myself get devoured by the likes of you, not today!" Vos declared with confidence. That confidence turned to confusion, however, has he heard the sound of a lightsaber turning on, and then another, and then several more. He looked around and saw that the other Jedi witnessing the incident had turned their weapons on, and were all pointed them at him. He could hear the murmurs of some of the Jedi.

"He knows... the Jedi knows too much."

"We must kill that arrogant fool now!"

"For our lord and master in darkness, it is our way!"

"Hmm. Yes, perish, you shall!"

Vos looked around and thought to himself what to do in this situation. Then he remembered that he conjured most of his surroundings by himself. All he needs to do is change things again.

The Jedi who were slowly surrounding Vos in a circle suddenly froze in their tracks and turned to ashen-grey stone. Vos looked over at Thome and smiled at him. "Well, where's your army now?"

Tholme smiled back and snapped his finger. Suddenly, the stone statues broke apart into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually becoming a huge ring of dust around the two. A gust of wind came over the area, sweeping the dust away and out of sight.

"I don't need an army to make you bend to me," Tholme said, "Now, would you care to try again?"

Vos grunted in frustration. He looked over at the tree that Tholme was previously leaning on. Now, it was a huge ion cannon, the barrel pointed directly towards Tholme. The latter looked at the contraption with disappointment and blew a breath of air on it. As the weapon prepared to fire, a light began to leak out from within, and the whole device exploded in a huge blue fireball.

Vos was not dissuaded. He looked above, at the Coruscant sky and saw the Jedi Council Spire. That spire leaned heavily until it broke free from its support, and the whole structure came crashing down into the courtyard below. Tholme laughed as he put his hand up to stop the building mid-air, and flung it into the sun.

Tholme looked back at a clearly irritated Vos. "You are really stupid, aren't you? You must see that we are on an absolutely equal footing, whatever you can create I can destroy, and vice versa. There is no point to this fighting, so damn it all and just listen to me!"

"Never." Vos quickly replied. "I'd rather die than listen to what you have to sa... wait a minute, why didn't I just think of that?"

Tholme raised an eyebrow to Vos' sudden realization. "What are you going on about now? Have you gone made already?"

Vos laughed as he took out his lightsaber. "Well, I guess I am stupid if I only now just figured this out. To break this stalemate, I need to die! If I can make myself die, then I can be reborn somewhere else that doesn't include the likes of you!" He pointed the front end of his weapon right over his heart and activated it.

"And before I go, tell the real Tholme that I said hello," Quinlan said as he collapsed on the ground with a smile.

* * *

 **Episode 9B: "So, am I Awake Yet?"**

He was alive. He took a huge gasp of air as he woke up and opened his eyes. He could feel that this time, he woke up in the real world. He could feel the Force flowing through his being, he could feel and hear the things around him. It was for that reason he could immediately tell that he was not anywhere familiar.

He was laying on a bed, he sat up and saw that he was in the room of what looked like some spotty apartment complex, the kind that is common in Coruscant's slum districts. There was a distinct lack of lighting; only a sliver of light came from a window on Quinlan's left side, illuminating the room with strands of grey light against the shadows. Quinlan had an eerie feeling about this place that told him that speaking wouldn't be a good idea, so he kept quiet as he surveyed his surroundings. Indeed, he could not see much in such pitiful lighting, but he could certainly feel the things he couldn't see.

He eventually felt something that was off. A signature that felt unlike an inanimate object; it felt more akin to, someone. There was somebody else in this room. Quinlan's heart began to beat more intensely as he tried to find out who or where this person was. Quinlan felt like he was trapped in his current pose. He feared the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows that were watching him as if it were waiting for him to make a move. He spent the next minute attempting to isolate this Force signature but to no avail. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed that he couldn't quite tell who was there, just the fact that someone WAS there.

Vos had enough of this charade. He tried sensing something that could help him see better. Soon, he felt something above him, a ceiling light! He instinctively reached out with his hand towards this light, and soon enough he could feel the electricity flowing through the device as it activated. The room was not much better lit, however; it was obvious that the Republic's war effort-diverting much of the planet's power grid towards the heavy manufacturing sectors- was starting to take its toll on the populace. As such, only a pathetic, dim orange light was projected from the ceiling and much of the room he was in was still hidden behind the shadows. Nevertheless, Quinlan could now see much more than before.

"Oh, so you finally decided to wake up?"

Quinlan's sense's jumped in surprise as a feminine voice called out to him. He immediately recognized the direction of the voice as being from his right side. His head turned as to see a woman sitting half in and out of the dim light in a chair, her boots being propped up on a roundtable. She appeared to be dressed in an all-black bodysuit. Her hair was black as well, and there was even a black cape draped haphazardly over the chair she was sitting in. Quinlan found himself temporarily dumbstruck as he pondered who in their right mind would worship the color black so much before prioritizing finding out her identity. Then, Vos felt something else about the newly revealed person, a feeling of familiarity. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about this woman felt very familiar, but he was still missing one last piece of the puzzle to confirm his suspicions.

"What's wrong? Are you scared of me?" She asked mockingly. "I wouldn't blame you. It is often what people do not see that scares them the most. You're scared of me right now, aren't you, Jedi?"

"Jedi? You know who I am?" Vos asked. "We've never met before, have we?"

"Never, but just through what I've heard, I know who you are very well, though I don't know who you aren't. Likewise, you don't know who I am, but I'm sure you know who I'm not."

"Yeah, you're not someone who's very good at small talk, are you?" Quinlan asked, and then immediately regretted asking. He had forgotten that this was the same woman who had disabled both Embo and Cad Bane in a scuffle lasting less than ten seconds. It was obvious now that talking smart wasn't actually a smart idea.

"I was going to suggest 'your enemy', but that is also acceptable; as you may have figured out already, I've always preferred a 'Show, don't tell' mentality. I believe it helps people remember who I am better than just words. And speaking of which..."

The woman suddenly took her boots off the desk and got up out of her chair, kicked it violently off to the side. As she stood up and turned around and faced Vos, the dim ceiling light suddenly went out, and once again the room was bathed in darkness bar the piecemeal rays of light from the window. Quinlan instinctively got off the bed and backed himself into the wall. He reached down to his waist to grab his lightsaber, yet he found himself grasping at thin air. The woman chucked at Quinlan's desperation. the woman took out a metallic object from her clock. Quinlan grunted in annoyance as he realized that was his lightsaber she was holding right now.

"Were you looking for this? My my, you should really take better care of such possessions. After all," Her finger found the right button and activated the lightsaber, holding the blade up horizontally to her face, "this weapon is your life, isn't it?"

The green glow of the lightsaber soon illuminated the room far greater than the ceiling light. Behind the weapon, Vos could now clearly see the face of this mystery woman. As he suspected, black clothing covered from head to toe except for her white face. At first glance, Vos could not discern any notable details about her very average looking face except for a large diagonal scar cutting across her forehead and down into her right cheek. Then, he saw her eyes. Vos couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt strange about them. They were large and blue eyes and stood out unlike the rest of her face. In fact, those eyes, they were perfect, not too overbearing, but neither too insignificant. It was as if they were special caved stones, like, like...

"Sapphires?" Vos asked out loud.

She smiled as her guest put the pieces together. Vos found himself flabbergasted, too surprised to say anything, and too afraid to take the initiative without his weapon.

"Yes", she finally replied. "Did you sleep well, Quinlan Vos?"


	10. An Illegal Hangover

Author's Note: So since I am surprisingly not dead, yet, I've it would be a good idea to keep this story going. I'm sure to finish it someday, right?

One important thing to note is that I will be going back and making serious revisions to several of the previous chapters after this chapter is posted. I have been inspired to rebirth them with exceptional quality, so I will put further chapters on hold until I finish this task. For now, enjoy the latest chapter of my story.

* * *

 **Episode 10: _An Illegal Hangover_**

Though time is already an artificial construct according to certain philosophers, the lack of a day and night cycle made the schedule of society in Coruscant's Underworld all the more unnatural. Engulfed in perpetual darkness that is penetrated only by a system of half-functioning lighting, the levels and sectors lying beneath the surface experienced certain events and the people lived lives dissimilar to those living on the affluent surface level. Thieves and pests have a much easier time sneaking around and laying low with the darkness that covered every corner and backstreet that didn't have lighting. The air was constantly cool without the radiation of the sun, yet was also polluted from the exhaust coming from the local industrial centers. The overstretched police force hold only as much power as the local gangs and crime syndicates who strongarmed the populace for unwanted "protection" allowed them to. The feeling of vibrancy, openness, and freedom that is experienced on the surface contrasted greatly with the claustrophobic, isolated, and simply depressing feeling of the Underworld.

Nevertheless, certain aspects of society down below remained the same as on the surface. People who worked at menial jobs got on and off their work at a fixed schedule every day, Police patrols would comb through the area in a predetermined order and at predictable intervals, and the people who attended the local brothels and cantinas would eventually get tired of being drunk and go home or would be kicked out for being too drunk and rowdy after a general period of time; it was at this time where things currently stand in the sector, as a large portion of the residents were sleeping and general activity in the streets were lesser than a previous hours. This all made for the area to be much quieter than it was earlier, which for some was a welcoming change compared to the bustling noise of earlier but also gave a sense of unease and anxiety for others.

However, the first thing Cad Bane thought about was the awful smell that he noticed as he woke up. His hands felt like they were grabbing onto something soft yet uneven and slimy; he opened his eyes and to his dismay, he was lying amidst a pile of garbage and filth. To make things worse, he also felt pain in his face as well as a general sense of uneasiness and disorientation. He looked over and saw Embo laying silent on the ground.

Bane tried to remember exactly what happened that led to this embarrassing and vulnerable situation. He knew that the Jedi had fallen from several stories off a building and he himself was about to finish him off, but then a bright flash of light spurred his attention before he was beaten up and knocked out. Bane summoned enough strength and pushed down with his hands to the ground to get up, crushing some of the garbage and to Bane's annoyance, reviving the stench which Bane's senses had only just begun to get used to. He hobbled over to the Kuyzo, knelt down and put his hand to Embo's neck to check his vitals. Thankfully, he wasn't dead, just unconscious.

"Hey, Embo wake up." Bane said to him, shaking him roughly on the shoulder. "Come on, you can sleep when we track down the Jedi," Embo was still silent, it was as if he couldn't even hear him. While he was somewhat sympathetic considering what he punishment he had to take in order to get taken out in the first place, Bane was not in the mood for waiting for Embo to eventually wake up. He felt that every second spent here waiting for him to wake up was another second taken away from planning their next move. "EMBO! WAKE UP ALREADY!" Bane yelled right in Embo's face and nearly tearing his own vocal cords in the process; Embo, however, remained unphased. Annoyed beyond measure, Bane resorted to slapping Embo in the face, but as he swung his right hand toward Embo it was suddenly caught by Embo's own right hand in a firm grip.

"/My... my face hurts./" He said to a surprised Bane as he slowly let go of his hand.

"You don't say," Bane said unsympathetically, "Well we can talk about it after we find Aurra and kill that Jedi." Bane scanned the area looking for his weapons. Though it was difficult in the dim lighting, he eventually found his LL-30 blaster laying in the middle of the alley, being throw out of Bane's hand in the previous scuffle. "Speaking of which, you remember what happened by any chance? My memory's foggy." He asked as he put his blaster back into its holster.

Embo shook his head as tried standing, but he winced in pain and cursed in his own language as he attempted to use his left arm to push himself off the ground and he fell onto his back again. Bane remembred seeing Embo having his left arm broken by the mysterious assailant during the scuffle, and it definitely looked like it hurt. He walked over and gave him a helping hand. "That's broken too? Whoever did this to us must be a trained killer, except for some reason they chose not to kill us. I don't like this one bit, this job is not as simple as I would've thought."

There was a pause after Bane finished talking to himself. Both Embo and Bane stood there trying to remember what had happened, but it seemed to both of them that they already knew what the other was going to say since both of them had experienced and remembered what had happened to a certain extent. And so they stood there silently, unable to recollect anything of relevance before suddenly a bright, almost blinding light showered over both bounty hunters.

"Freeze!" A voice rang out from the end of the alley. A squad of four security droids had converged on the area without either Bane of Embo noticing and were now pointed their blasters right at them. One of the droids who was shining the light from one of its eyes, the captain of the squad being identified by a yellow dash across its helmet-shaped cranium, walked forward towards the bounty hunters. The blinding light was replaced by a brief flash red lasers coming out from its left eye, evidently scanning and cross-referencing them in its existing database to determine their identity. "Identity: bounty hunters Cad Bane and Embo. Drop your weapons and put your hands to the air! We are given the authorization to use lethal force against level three criminals and above."

Bane grunted in annoyance at his situation. Neither he nor Embo was in any condition to fight, still being somewhat disoriented and injured from the scuffle that happened before. Even if that weren't the case, the odds of Bane drawing his blaster and gunning down four droids before any of them managed to fire their already aimed blasters were low to nonexistent, even for a quick gun like himself. Without any other option, Bane slowly took his blaster out of its holster and threw it to the ground near the droids and putting his hands above his head, with Embo quickly following suit. The captain picked up the blaster and holstered his own blaster; he took out two pairs of handcuffs and walked behind the two bounty hunters, quickly restraining the both of them.

"Cad Bane, you are charged with the possession of illegal weapons and other contraband, conspiracy to commit terrorism against the Galactic Republic, and several accounts of murder, including a Galactic Senator. Embo, you are charged with the possession of illegal weapons and contraband and working for the Confederacy of Independent Systems as a mercenary against the Galactic Republic. Your rights are to remain silent, to fair and impartial treatment until and during your trial, to an attorney, and to express any of the other basic rights nominally granted to citizens of the Galactic Republic. Do you have anything to say, criminals?" The droid captain asked.

"Yeah, you droids would've been better off if you stayed as scrap metal back in the junkyards on Tatooine," Bane replied scornfully. His current situation was not going to excuse the fact that he openly despises these sorts of police droids, who's programming make them competent at their job when the only criminals around to arrest are drunks and amateurs. To him, it was a complete embarrassment to be captured by them.

"Insults are not appreciated," the droid replied, "you should know such language will eventually be used against you in a court of law." The droid captain then pushed them both towards the other three and began talking into a wrist-com. "Headquarters, come in. This is unit CPD-395, requesting transportation for two criminals found in alley OH-141." Description: Two males, one duros, and one kuyzo. Identified as bounty hunters Cad Bane and Embo. Over."

"Copy. We are sending transport now, estimated time of arrival is fifteen minutes. Note that it is critical to keep those two within your optical range at all times until we can reach you. Once the prisoners are successfully placed transported, investigate the area near the cantina in subsector 63-I. CPD-835 and CPD-210 reported blaster fire in that area but have been failed to respond to our communications for the past thirty minutes. It is probable that your two prisoners are related to their inactivity."

"Affirmative, we will await transportation and then proceed towards subsector 63-I." The droid captain replied before putting away its wrist-com and turning towards the other droids. "CPDs 557, 163, and 203, guard the prisoners until transportation arrives. I will detect any civilians that could be taken in for interrogation regarding this incident. Remember, do not let these two escape at any cost, terminate them if they cause too much disturbance."

"Affirmative" replied all three droids at once as they saluted they droid captain. One of them went behind and pushed Embo and Bane forwards. "Let's move these prisoners into the streets until transport arrives." It said.

* * *

Aurra Sing woke up with one of the worst headaches in a long while; her head was positively throbbing from the pain and it didn't feel as though it was going to go away any time soon. She stood up slowly and with great difficulty fought off the temptation to fall over again from disorientation. She put her hands to face and forehead in an attempt to alleviate the pain and remember what had happened. She was shooting at the Jedi, who was running on top a set rooftop near the Cantina after he confronted Bane. Embo was also there and did something with that large hat of his, and then...

She stopped thinking as her foot had hit something hard and metallic, being too dark to distinguish it easily, she bent over and picked up the object, which was much larger and heavier than what she expected. It was round and wide and in an instant, she remembered what had happened.

"That's right. That Jedi got me with Embo's own hat, threw it at me like it was a child's toy and must've gotten me square in the head." She said to herself as she unconsciously let go of the metal hat with one of her hands and put it back to her forehead. "Made me look like a complete idiot in the process too." Before she could wallow any further in her misery, she heard a faint noise coming from street level, the sound of metal clanking softly against metal. She leaned over the side of the roof and saw that a single droid was walking down the street. Quickly she looked back at the roof and found her longblaster lying to the side. She picked it up and used the scope to zero in on the droid. From the sleek design and the blue-color scheme as well as the oddly shaped cranium, it was definitely a police droid.

She contemplated shooting the droid right now, but she realized that if there was a single droid here then there would be more nearby, and trouble was the last thing she needed right now. Aurra tapped on the wrist communicator on her left arm and attempted to contact Cad Bane, whose communicator should have been linked with hers; after twenty seconds, there was still no response. From this, Aurra realized that it meant one of three things: he was dead, his communicator was broken, or he was a little too busy either sleeping or in handcuffs to respond at the moment. Given the sighting of a police droid, the fourth possibility seemed to be the most likely to her.

"Looks like I'll have to find them my own way." She said with a voice hinting at her slight annoyance...

The droid captain did not find as much success as it anticipated in finding civilians. The already desolate nature of the backstreets and the fact blaster fire tends to scare people away meant that the only thing besides itself there were moving around were pieces of garbage and the various pests that dwelled in the Coruscant Underworld. It had moved off the main street and was walking through a series of backstreets that was wedged between apartment complexes that towered overhead; still, no civilians in sight. He chose to enter one of the apartment complexes to check inside for residents. The dark, maze-like corridors were eerily silent, and though it were becoming increasingly clear that the place was deserted, the droid knocked on multiple doors on the first floor with no response. Then it climbed a flight of stairs to the floor and checked multiple doors, again with no response, and the third floor was more of the same.

It was then after the droid entered yet another desolate room on the third floor that his wrist-com communicated to him. "CPD-395, transportation will arrive in two minutes. Have you detected any civilians in the area?" One of its subordinates asked.

"Negative", it replied as it walked over to a full-sized window that overlooked the side-street. "I could not detect a single civilian so far. I checked several side streets and an apartment complex yet my sensors haven't picked up anything; perhaps my system requires another set of diagnostics. No matter, prepare for the prisoners in alley OH-141 to be transported out of this sector and then link up at subsector 63-I in three minutes. We need to confirm the status of CPD-835 and 210 to headqua-"

The droid failed to relay its own orders as a sudden, powerful blast tore through its chest from behind and exited out the front, hitting the window as well and shattering it instantly. The force of the hit sent the droid falling forward toward the ground, and it landed with a hard thud on the floor. From the shadows of the hallway came a grey-skinned woman who was carrying a longblaster in her arms. The darkness hid the smile on Aurra's face as she successfully stalked and ambushed the lone droid without it having the faintest idea.

"Diagnostics is an understatement," Aurra jested. She noticed that the droid had managed to continue functioning after getting shot clean through with a sniper blast. "Hm, Alley OH-141? Guess that's where they're napping." She was walking away when a disgusting, digitized voice that attempted to replicate human speech spoke to her.

"Halt." The half-disabled droid said as it used its limb motors in a failed attempt to stand back up, the jarring noise of which made Aurra grit her teeth in disgust and agitation. "Yoou are... chaaaargeed wiith seeeeveral acooounts of batteery annd asauuult," The robot said, struggling to speak with the damaged voice box located where the blast hit. "Drooooop yooourrr we-" it couldn't finish its command as Aurra took out a hand-blaster and shot the droid multiple times in the head, firing as fast as she could pull the trigger and illuminating the dark room with bright flashes of crimson red. At point-blank range, each consecutive hit was close enough together to form a massive hole in the droids face and with a final shot completely blew away whatever was left. The droid fell over instantly, letting out a few sparks of electricity before finally shutting down."

"Thanks for the reminder. I'll remember to turn myself in once I get my money." Aurra declared as she opened up a small holo-map from a gadget on her wrist. She inputted the information for Alley OH-141 and was about to run off searching for her two associates when she noticed a blaster that had fallen off the droid. She knelt down and picked it up, immediately noticing it to be one of Bane's weapons.

"And to think he calls ME an amateur!"...

* * *

The two bounty hunters had been sitting on the ground for some time now. Though neither of them felt any disorientation or pain anymore, the fact that they had their hands bound behind their backs made any attempt at escape incredibly difficult. Both of them were silent, realizing that they probably couldn't figure out a way to break free themselves while they were being watched by three police droids. With this in mind, Bane understood that he would need Aurra Sing, who probably wasn't found by the police, to help free him and Embo, and it was this fact that irked him; he imagined Aurra was probably still asleep on the roof that she was knocked out on, and even if she were to wake up and find them there wasn't a guarantee that she would actually want to free them. Knowing her all too well as cruel and irrational, Bane half-expected Aurra to simply let them die just to eliminate the competition.

Soon, a large police speeder arrived in the street where Bane and Embo where being kept. To Bane's surprise, only a single droid- the one piloting the speeder- arrived to pick them up. It climbed out and landed on the street and approached one of the other droids. "Where is CPD-395?" it asked one of the other droids. "395 requested transportation from headquarters and is required to be here to confirm the transfer of prisoners."

"395's location is currently unknown," the other replied, "395 ordered us to remain here and guard the prisoners while it would detect any civilians that are available for interrogation. We attempted communication but the connection was suddenly disrupted."

"Troublesome," the first droid replied, "first 835 and 210, and now 395 has ceased communication; that's now three units in the past hour in this sector that have ceased communication. I calculate a 92% chance that there is another criminal operating in this area."

"Oh, really?" Cad Bane asked sarcastically as he overheard the chatter of the police droids. "I would've never figured that out myself. What about you Embo?", Embo, playing along and making fun of the droid's so-called "intelligence" shook his head in agreement.

"Silence, prisoner! You are not permitted to speak at this moment!" The droid ordered sternly before looking back at the other droid. "It is now critical that these two are transported out of here immediately. One of you contact headquarters and request reinforcements, we need to flush out this criminal before they-". A loud noise suddenly interrupted the droid right in the middle of its sentence. The usually silent backstreets and alleyways made the sound all the louder, and it echoed clearly several times before finally quieting down.

"What was that?" One of the droids asked. All eyes and optical sensors were now fixated in the direction of the source of the noise. It appeared to have originated from a metallic object that must have fallen from one of the roofs, laying near a streetlight which reflected off the object. More importantly, however, Bane noticed that this particular object seemed to be of exceptional interest to the droids. Perhaps it was because he felt his perception of time slow to a crawl, but the droids seemed to be fixated on this object to an unnatural degree and span of time, completely oblivious to what they were just doing.

Whatever the cause of this anomaly, Bane wasted no time to take a risk at freedom. Locating the blaster inside the holster on of one of the droids, Bane quickly turned around and faced away from the droids; he moved backwards towards the droid and seized the blaster from its holster with his cuffed hands without being detected. He then moved back towards Embo and with his back to his, fired a single shot straight through Embo's handcuffs, shattering the restraints. Understanding what Bane's plan was, Embo quickly grabbed the blaster himself, stood up and aimed at the four droids in front of him, fired four shots at each of the droids' heads in quick succession. They all dropped to the ground before any of them could even turn back around and aim their weapons at them.

Bane looked on with mild amusement at Embo. "Never knew you were such a good shot with a blaster like that. Good thing I'm still better." Bane remarked. In his mind, he knew he was right, as his experience with handheld blasters was virtually unmatched compared to the thousands of other bounty hunters and outlaws in the Galaxy. He saw that Embo, while skilled in aiming and firing, aimed the weapon manually and with a sense of care that is seen in those unfamiliar with using certain weapons. Bane then noticed Embo looking at him after that remark. He couldn't tell if he wasn't mad, as Embo rarely ever displays his personal emotions to anyone, or just curious for an explanation. "You have a good eye, but you lack the instinct that I do. I don't need to aim as much as I need to trust my gut to make all the tiny adjustments for me, then I can fire with a good chance that I don't get shot back. You should stick to your bowcaster, or actually, a bowcaster." He finished, remembering how Embo didn't have it after the chase with the Jedi, who probably destroyed it with his lightsaber.

Embo chuckled as he went back and shot through Bane's handcuffs and freed the Duros from his binding. He dropped the police blaster to the ground like a common piece of garbage before walking over towards the metallic object. In the light of a nearby streetlight, Embo discovered that is was his own hat. He grunted satisfyingly as he put it back on top of his bald head, giving it a good spin in the process. "/She is here/", Embo remarked. Soon enough, a woman descended from right above Embo, landing gracefully onto the street. "You're welcome.", she said as she walked past him and approached Bane.

"Why didn't you just shoot them yourself? "It would've been easier that way.", He asked her. He had noticed that Aurra had been watching the whole ordeal for some time at a vantage point while being completely undetected in the darkness; a sniper's dream. If she had chosen to do so, Aurra and her superb skill with a sniper blaster could've taken out all four droids in an instant with the accuracy and efficiency befitting a trained killer.

"Exactly. I wanted to see if there was a chance that you two would've gotten killed if you two tried to free yourself." She said, taking out Bane's own LL-30 blaster and holding it by the barrel for courtesy's sake. "Would've been nice actually, I'd get all the money for killing the Jedi and I also could've kept this nice blaster of yours," She finished before suddenly noticed an awful, putrid smell coming from Bane, "My, you've been down in the dumps lately, haven't you Bane?"

"Well, aren't you a comedian?" Bane said as he snatched his blaster from Aurra. "I'll remember that next time you get thrown in prison. Embo, how's the arm?" He asked him as he walked back towards them, kicking away one of the police droids to the side in the process.

"/Already healed/." He answered as he spun his left arm in circles for a couple of seconds to indicate that he had fully recovered from his injury; Bane looked at him with a face of suppressed astonishment. He knew that he had a few tricks up his metaphorical sleeves, but he knew also for a certainty that was the same arm had been very broken not thirty minutes prior. "/Now I will hunt down who broke it/."

"Are you talking about the Jedi?" Aurra asked. "You know, I'd have thought he was done for as soon as that synthetic spice was in his system. Come on, don't tell me he was still too much trouble for you two."

"You're one to talk, Miss knocked-out-by-a-metal-hat," Bane replied sharply, "That spice did its job well enough though; we thrashed the Jedi and my finger was right on the trigger when we were attacked by someone else. Not sure how exactly how it happened, but when we came through both they and the Jedi were gone and we soon got cornered by the police."

"Really? What did they look like?" Aurra asked, "You think they could've been another Jedi who was watching us without us knowing? Could this have been a setup to try and get all three of us?"

"Don't be dumb. Why are we not in a cell already if they're trying to get us off the streets? Besides, the Jedi are fighting a war right now, they wouldn't risk one of their own getting killed by hired guns like us in a sting operation. But as for our mystery person, well I can't really tell you if they looked like a Jedi, I don't remember much of what happened. Actually," he interrupted himself, "it probably isn't a good idea to stick around here for too much longer. Way too much noise we made here." He walked over to the police speeder and climbed into the driver's seat. "Get in, both of you. Oh, but I suppose I would understand if you felt like you're too good for my hospitality, Aurra."

"I've never asked for your help and I don't plan on it, but I'd also rather not sleep off my headache in behind a laser door," Aurra said.

A small smile of satisfaction came from Bane. "Good, keep thinking like that and I won't have to shoot you when we got our money. Now hop in, I'll take us somewhere more 'pristine'," Bane said as he activated the speeder with a few button presses on the control console. A low hum began to emit which gradually increased in noise, the draft from the engines blowing away loose garbage in the street. Embo and Aurra quickly climbed into the speeder, and after pressing a few more buttons, the speeder was soon moving. After clearing through the backstreets, Bane made for open air and flew towards the nearest docking port at one end of the sector. He passed clear through an opening, bypassing customs security on the ground and entering into one of the many wells that connect the dark, underground levels of the Coruscant with the vibrant day filled surface...


End file.
